TERRE HAUTE —
If there is one thing Terre Haute is known for, it is trains. Trains are so common, there is a term when people get stuck by them — “railroaded.”
“I can get railroaded by four different tracks on my way to work,” Terre Haute resident Patricia Fenio-Campbell said.
While residents in Vigo County may complain about the trains, there is an upside to be trapped by the tracks. When a rail line is no longer in use, it can be removed, remediated and paved into a trail. Probably the best example is the National Road Heritage Trail which runs from Chamberlain Street to Fourth Street. That trail used to be a rail corridor and now it is one of Patricia’s favorite places to clear her mind and catch up with friends.
“There are a group of friends that I meet with religiously, every Sunday to go on the trail,” Patricia said. “Everybody walks or runs at their own speed. We all start out together, walk a little to get warmed up and some of us take off running and some people just walk the entire time. We all meet back up at the trail head when we are done.”
It’s more than a trail
While the trails are a strip of asphalt they mean so much more to many. The trails weave the entire fabric of the community and bring opportunities for people to get out and exercise and convene with their neighbors.
“The rails-to-trails is a park. It is a linear park. It is unique, in that, a lot of money that could be spent in the community might benefit only a certain group of people,” Patricia said. “What better use of money than to have a system like this where people of all ages and athletic abilities can use it.”
Linear parks can also help improve the health of the community. Patricia prefers them because unlike a park where she might just go and sit, with a linear park she is walking, running or riding her bike.
“Recreational purposes are important for this city, given the sedentary lifestyles that are predominated and the rise of childhood obesity,” Terre Haute City Planner Pat Martin said. “We are highly cognizant that we need more recreational activities and we are very aggressively pursuing those areas in every area we can pursue them.”
Economic benefits
The Rails to Trails Conservancy sees that in this economy, work can be done almost anywhere and that people and businesses are looking for places to move. The places that are doing trail development right, are the types of communities that are thriving these days.
“Cities that are doing well in this economy have put a premium on liveability. When you get down to it, liveability are places where you can walk, bike and be active,” said Eric Oberg, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Midwest regional manager.
“Take for example the section of the trail around Locust Street. That was a former agricultural field and while it produced income for the property owner, the new owner came in and put in a multi-million dollar apartment complex that has brought in significant revenue for the city,” Martin said.
One area of economic interest is the abandoned rail line on First Street from Spruce Street to Farrington Street. Martin says that area could likely be used for streetscape with possible accommodations for bicycle lanes.
“It would give us the opportunity to do landscaping beautification along the First Street corridor where there are very few areas of beauty. This ties into the river, in that it is a separation barrier between the river front and the city/county government complex. If we could have that rail line removed, we could completely re-do that connectivity between downtown Terre Haute and the Riverscape,” Martin said.
Upcoming Rails to Trails
The City of Terre Haute’s next opportunity to develop a rail to trail project is the old Graham Grain Line. Terre Haute’s portion of the project extends from roughly 6 1/2 Street and Helen Avenue down to Davis Avenue. The portion of the proposed trail owned by the city is approximately 0.9 miles. Vigo County is expected to pick up the trail from Davis Avenue and extend it all the way down to Springhill Road. That distance is about 1.5 miles. Together the trail could be about 2.5 miles.
“We are trying to resolve the environmental issues on that site. On the city’s portion we have resolved all of the environmental issues. Vigo County still has some additional environmental investigation they need to complete on the site itself,” Martin said.
Track abandonment
A rail line that does not have trains running on it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is abandoned. If one is curious if a rail line is abandoned and could be turned into a trail, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy recommends to look at the property records at the local county/city tax assessor’s office. The next step would be to find out who owns the line, get a contact person for the line and ask what the plan is for that track. Railroads have to go through abandonment proceedings with the Surface Transportation Board. The rail road company will have to file abandonment with the STB. The STB will then consummate the abandonment proceedings.
One of the services the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy offers is called an Early Warning System. The conservancy has staff in Washington D.C. that monitor STB abandonment filings. The system allows residents to search by zip code to see if any trails have been abandoned in their area.
“If you don’t sign up for the alerts then it is really hard unless you know somebody locally who is somehow involved with the railroads and know there are abandonment proceedings happening,” Oberg said.
The Conservancy says the average time frame to go from a rail to a trail, can range from five to 20 years from concept to asphalt on the ground. They say the timeline is dictated by the strength of the local community.
“It is imperative that you get local decision makers on your side. That is how you can get closer to the five year range and away from the 10 to 20 year range,” Oberg said.
While drivers in Terre Haute can only hope for more tracks to go by the way side, it is a seldom few that will be transformed into paths to connect the community. In the meantime, people like Patricia will have to wait to explore new parts of the Valley on foot.
“If people would just go out there once they would understand what all of us are so excited about,” Patricia said. “It is an experience you would remember and want to repeat.”
Trail info
• www.railstotrails.org
• www.indianatrails.org/NRHT
• The Rails to Trails Conservancy also offers a trail finding database at Traillink.com. They work to map every trail in the country. They encourage people to suggest trails that may be missing from their database.
Potential corridors
• First Street rail line from the junction of the CSX mainline at Spruce Street to the vicinity of Farrington Street
• The National Road Heritage Trail from Delmar and Betty Jones Trailhead (Chamberlain Street) to Brazil could be developed as a trail corridor, given sufficient local interest
• Graham Grain line extending from Sixth and Helen to Davis Avenue (Terre Haute) and Davis Avenue to Springhill Road (Vigo County)
• The rail service line extending from the vicinity of Feree Road and McDaniel Road to east of Riley may not be converted anytime soon as the Indiana Rail Road Co. acquired the line for service to the coal mine if such an operation were to reopen.
• Markle Mill Dam to Rosedale-Rockville rail line has partial ownership by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Features
Related Photos
-
Shady run: Norbert Gottschling and Patricia Fenio-Campbell enjoy a recent run under the shade of the National Heritage Trail. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
-
Fit for a queen: Gary Isle walks his dog, Fiona, into the cool shade of the National Heritage Trail on a recent Sunday. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
-
Among friends: Janice Dukes and Lorrie Heber walk with friends on the National Heritage Trail on a recent Tuesday. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
-
Trail runner: Terre Haute City Planner Pat Martin runs on the National Heritage Trail Sunday, July 30. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
Discussion
Rails to trails practice offers Terre Haute avenues of growth
- Features
-
-
Longtime weatherman Jesse Walker relates well to people of Wabash Valley
While in middle and high school, Jesse Walker developed a strong interest in the weather. He thought about a career at the National Weather Service or at a storm prediction center, but the idea of becoming a television meteorologist never entered his mind.
-
YOUR GREEN VALLEY: Keep your garden — and yourself — safe from lead
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lead poisoning is the No. 1 preventable environmental cause of illness in children.
-
TRIED ‘N’ TRUE: Need something for the kids? Try these Ritzy Cookies
When we have dinners at the church, one of the ladies brings these cookies. Nancy Kahl has been making these for some time now. They are so good. Need something for your kids? Make sure that there isn’t any one who can’t have peanuts. These are so easy and extra good.
-
CULINARY COURSES: Clabber Girl Classroom Kitchen provides variety of cooking courses for the Valley
There are a few taste-bud-tantalizing-perks for having America’s leading baking powder producer in your backyard. For nearly 120 years, Clabber Girl has been a staple in Terre Haute. In 1899, Hulman and Company began offering up what was to become one of the oldest brands in the country, Clabber baking powder. In 1923, the company changed the baking powder brand name to Clabber Girl.
-
RIVER OF SOUND: Composer sees symphony bring his musical imagination to life
David Watkins smiled as he stood on the Tilson Auditorium stage. The audience stood, too, applauding.
Two of his compositions had just been performed by the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. Neither piece — “A Wabash Portrait” and “River Fanfare” — had been played publicly in decades. -
The Beauties of Spring: Stunning array of wildflowers bloom each spring in Collett Park
Groundskeepers put off the first mowing of Collett Park each spring.
Admirers of the place, Terre Haute’s oldest park, like it that way.
A stunning array of wildflowers covers the 21-acre lawn for a few short weeks. Those plants, known as “spring beauties,” emerge in March, bloom in April and go dormant by May, when the brilliant waves of white and pink flowers disappear. -
Day spent with daughter inspires Valley man to write children’s book for her
It started with a warm sunny blackberry picking outing, a bee buzzing, a little bird nest with eggs in it and a little girl begging her daddy for a night-time story. And from those ingredients the children’s book, “The Bee in the Blackberry Bush” came to fruition.
-
From kilts to haggis, Wabash Valley Scottish Society marks a decade of preserving heritage
As soon as Richard Cooper breaks into his Scottish accent, a smile automatically follows.
It happened last week as he recited a work of legendary Scotland poet Robert Burns. -
Witness to history: April movie chronicles Jackie Robinson’s trials as be breaks Major League Baseball’s color barrier — something Vigo County native Harry Taylor witnessed first hand
The upcoming movie “42” aims to show America what Jackie Robinson endured.
Harry Taylor witnessed it firsthand.
Robinson wore jersey No. 42 for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Taylor wore 41. Both were 28-year-old rookies, considerably older than most. Taylor got delayed by military service in World War II. Professional baseball’s unwritten but ironclad code of racial discrimination had kept Robinson and other African-Americans out of the majors since the 1880s. -
Sisterly Habits: Fillenwarth sisters are linked together in more than one sense
The Fillenwarth sisters are sisters in more than one sense of the word.
Both were born two of the eight children of city cop Henry and his wife Catherine Fillenwarth. Both grew up among a large and giving Catholic extended family in inner-city Indianapolis in the 1940s. -
Geocaching Indiana: Clay County man develops idea to use geo-art to create outline of state in caches
Indiana, long-known as the Crossroads of America, has for years been a destination for people coming from around the world to witness such activities as the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, Indianapolis Colts football games and Indiana University Hoosiers basketball games.
Since October 2012, Indiana’s attractions have come to include the surprising geo-art creation of a group of Wabash Valley geocachers — people who use Global Positioning Systems and similar location-sensitive devices to find hidden objects for fun. -
Voice of a Storyteller: Chance meeting of Twain, Paris youngster inspired narrative voice of Huck Finn
The block offers no hints of its place in American literary history.
Customers dodge raindrops, walking in and out of an auto parts store. -
Pearls of the Wabash: Efforts to reintroduce mussels
Broken bricks, shattered large clay tiles and thin strips of lumber nailed into a crimped piece of sheet metal, sit piled down a county road in Hillsdale.
-
Natural Habitat: Meet 17-year-old Ben Cvengros, who has a knack for capturing wildlife — in particular, birds — on his camera
I would like to introduce you to a 17-year-old Parke County teenager who has an incredible level of patience. Ben Cvengros was 12 years old when he found his passion for photography.
-
WORD PLAY: Scrabble Club broadens Greene County youngsters’ vocabularies and experiences in a fun way
Drew Helton nodded his head like a wise college professor dispensing scholarly advice.
-
Doing a lot with a little: Family’s resourcefulness leads it to reuse vegetable oil as fuel
Up a winding driveway, tucked off a main road in Clay County, sits an average-looking house in a hardwood forest. The homeowners, Chris and Lori Hart, are two resourceful people.
-
Coming full circle: Vigo County 4-H’er hopes donation of livestock auction money helps youth
The phrase “giving back” is often quoted but sometimes lacks personal follow through.
-
CRUISIN’ TO A CAREER IN MUSIC: Terre Haute native Will Foraker on a roll with new album, job as cruise ship entertainer
On his way to the Panama Canal, Will Foraker sounded energized.
-
Fountain honoring sacrifice by life-saving Santa may return to site of his heroism
A commemorative drinking fountain once marked the spot. Someday soon, it may return there.
-
A Devotion to Art: The Halcyon featuring artistic legacy of Evalyn James during month of December
Evalyn Gertrude James first made a name for herself in Terre Haute in the late 1920s when she took a job as a professor of art at what is now Indiana State University.
-
‘A Song for Indiana’ to raise money for Dresser sculpture
Art Spaces will present “A Song for Indiana – The Paul Dresser Project” at 5:30 p.m. on June 6 at the Holiday Inn of Terre Haute.
-
Sign up for Community School of the Arts classes
Summer is the perfect time to enroll children and teens in theater and visual arts and music classes at the Indiana State University Community School of the Arts.
-
FAMILY TIES: While searching for my grandfather, I found my mother
I remember the afternoon my mother received the chilling news from her nephew that her oldest sister and brother-in-law had been killed in a car/bus collision.
-
GRAPE SENSE: Same old whites getting you down? Try something different
If the same old Chardonnay, Riesling or Pinot Grigio is getting you down, try something different.
-
TRIED ‘N’ TRUE: A Rhubarb Nut Bread for the season
Last fall we went to the Covered Bridge Festival. Gene loves to go. Anyway, I got to talking to this lady, Treva Smith, at Bridgeton.
-
Diamond Hill Station goes bold in ‘Katy Bar the Door’ album
On the second track of Diamond Hill Station’s new CD, the band deftly rambles through a catchy, love-gone-wrong song called “Same Old Thing.”
-
Roxie Randle takes next step with single ‘Everything I’m Not’
The next step for singer-songwriter Roxie Randle is a single with the attitude and power to crack radio airplay lists.
-
Opening reception Friday for ‘Mud Musings’
Indiana State University’s Community School of the Arts is scheduled to host an opening reception for an art exhibition from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday in the Gallery Lounge of ISU’s Hulman Memorial Student Union.
-
CHRIS DAVIES: Keep sodium levels in mind when sweating buckets
Salt, or sodium, is vital to life. Too much or too little sodium can cause all kinds of problems in your body. How much sodium do we need if we are exercising consistently?
-
YOUR GREEN VALLEY: Union Hospital creates community garden
Union Hospital will be opening a community garden on its campus in mid-May. Before they embarked on such a challenge, they looked to their neighbor Indiana State University for advice.
- More Features Headlines
-
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
9-year-old Tornado Victim Loved Family, Singing
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
Raw: Costa Rica Volcano Roars to Life
Today in History May 22
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
