A bill that will help eastern Kansas and western Missouri share their Civil War-era history with the nation was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“It’s about community development. It’s about pride in our heritage and telling our story,” said Judy Billings, director of the Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The bill, called the Freedom’s Frontier Heritage Area, was written and introduced by U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun, R- Kan., who represents the 2nd District, which includes parts of Lawrence. It initially was called the Bleeding Kansas National Heritage Area and became part of a larger bill known as the National Heritage Areas Act.

The bill now goes to the Senate. Ryun’s staff said they hoped the bill was on a fast track in the Senate but were unsure of a timeline.

If passed, the bill would establish a heritage area in Douglas and 28 other Kansas counties as well as about a dozen Missouri counties. Jefferson, Osage and Montgomery counties in Kansas recently were added to the list.

A historic area designation will allow the counties access to federal grants and assistance from the National Park Service in interpreting local Civil War-era history. Historic sites such as Black Jack Battlefield near Baldwin as well as Watkins Community Museum of History in Lawrence, Constitution Hall in Lecompton and the Clinton Lake Museum near Clinton should benefit.

Re-enactor Jon Reed, of Auburn, right, prepares to fire through the smoke during the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Fort Titus at Lecompton's Territorial Days celebration in June. The Heritage Area designation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives will give Douglas County access to federal assistance in interpreting local Civil War-era history, such as the Fort Titus battle.

As soon as the historic designation becomes official, counties in the heritage area will take part in preparing a management plan about how the local history can be explained and interpreted.

“We will have a lot of public meetings to determine how we put it out there on a day-to-day basis for the public to experience,” Billings said. “Rather than coming to Lawrence and hearing only about Quantrill’s Raid, it will have a broader appeal of, ‘Where did Quantrill come from and why did he want to raid Lawrence?'”

A heritage bill was introduced in both houses in March 2004. But local leaders had been laying the groundwork for the legislation for sometime.

It was a grassroots process in Douglas and the other counties, said Kerry Altenbernd, a member of the Black Jack Trust, which owns the battlefield. Grassroots support has been the key to making other heritage areas in the country successful, he said.

“The ones that have had grassroots support are thriving,” Altenbernd said. “The people are already onboard and committed and working for it before it ever existed.”

The Kansas and Missouri heritage bill has had support from the Park Service and Congress because they are aware of its importance to the nation’s history, Altenbernd said.