Historic trail markers dedicated
Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007
BENTONVILLE - History was in the making Monday afternoon along two trails in Bentonville.
The Heritage Trails Partners dedicated the first two trail markers in Bentonville, which now join several others throughout the northwest Arkansas region in identifying trails that organizers hope will eventually link many local communities.
One new marker is by Dave Peel Park near the Bentonville Square, and the second is on Eagle Way just off Water Tower Road, near Northwest Arkansas Community College.
"As each city is making their attempts to get a trail plan, we have been charged with linking them together," said John McLarty, transportation planner with the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission.
The Heritage Trail Partners have focused on three major historical routes that impacted the region as its method of finding and marking the trails.
The three routes - the Butterfield Stagecoach route, the Trail of Tears and Civil War troop routes - are all depicted on the trail-marker signs. The sign logo is the fruits of a design contest among local residents.
The trail sign near Dave Peel Park marks the route taken by Union Gen. Franz Siegel's troops in March 1862 as they left Bentonville on their way to Pea Ridge.
The trail sign by NWACC is unique in that it will serve as a marker for the future instead of the past. The trail is a spur that connects other components of the Heritage Trail and is not a part of any of the historic routes. The section of trail will prove historic, however, because it's where the Bentonville and Rogers trails will eventually meet.
Organizers hope to soon connect the trails from Lake Bella Vista through Bentonville and to historic downtown Rogers. There are three areas that still need to be connected, including a patch on Eighth Street in Bentonville, a section under the I-540 overpass on Southeast 14 th Street and a portion of trail near the Bella Vista bypass, said Shelli Rushing, planning services manager for the city of Bentonville.
The Eighth Street trail will be done when the street is widened, the 14 th Street trail still needs funding, and Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department approval is still needed for the Bella Vista bypass trail, she said.
All the other trails have been planned, but some are waiting for the nearby roads to be renovated so the trails won't have to be recreated.
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