Filmmaker Ken Burns lends name to push for National Park in Delaware

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns says the fact that First State does not yet have a National Park is "quite shameful”—and he’s ready to help change that.

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"The first shall be last," said Burns, who spent a chunk of his early childhood in the late 1950's and early 1960's living in Delaware. "We've let everybody else come in with their National Park sites and now it's time for us to have ours. And I would like to pledge to you my efforts and my energies to make that happen."

Burns joined Senator Tom Carper, Rep. John Carney and a small crowd of Delaware political leaders, residents and park workers Thursday at the New Castle Court House Museum in historic New Castle as Carper continued his campaign to create a National Park in Delaware. In February, Carper introduced the First State National Historical Park Act of 2011. Senator Chris Coons is co-sponsoring the legislation while Carney introduced a similar measure in the House of Representatives. Delaware is the only state in the U.S. without a National Park, or even a unit of the National Park service. (For details on the legislation and Delaware's National Park plan - click here).

Burns' 2009 series "America's Best Idea: The National Parks" chronicles the National Parks system in the United States. Burns believes the state's pre-Revolutionary War history and its role in ratifying the Constitution is significant and deserves the attention a National Park would bring.

"We realize here in this extraordinary state our history goes back much farther [than the 1700s]," noted Burns at the historic court house. "As we sit in these pews and we think about who sat here before, the way we have practiced the art of democracy with each other, with our neighbors, we begin to understand the strength of our country."

Filmmaker Ken Burns visits Delaware to offer his support

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Currently, the legislation is in committee in both the U.S. Senate and House. Carper concedes there is still a long road ahead but he is optimistic this version of the bill will be successful, unlike the bill he introduced in the last session of Congress which stalled in committee.

"We're working very hard. We have the support of [Senator] Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico), chair of the relevant committee and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) the ranking Republican—and they're going to try and help us get it done," said Carper.

If approved, the key points in the Delaware National Park will consist of the following sites:

New Castle County

Kent County

Sussex County

"This is a state that's rich in history," said Carper. "It's a story that needs to be told. It's a story we're going to tell."

Burns is in Delaware to receive 2011 History Makers Award from the Delaware Historical Society Thursday night.