Article submitted by Randy Cronk
MOUNT VERNON – In 1988, a non-profit board was formed to develop and maintain the yet-to-be-named Kokosing Gap Trail. The board is very pleased to invite the public to the Kokosing Gap Trail’s 25th anniversary celebration on October 5 at the Schnormeier Event Center in Ariel Foundation Park.
The event begins at 6:30 p.m. with a children’s costume and bicycle parade. Awards will be given for costume and bicycle decoration. The program highlighting the trails history, collaborative partnerships, and significance to Knox County and the Erie to Ohio Trail will begin at 7 p.m.
The free event will include drawings for one free youth and one free adult bicycle. While supplies last, free ice cream and gifts will also be provided for those who attend.
The last passenger train traveled the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks from Mount Vernon to Gambier in December 1950. Carrying sand, freight trains lumbered down the tracks from Millwood to Mount Vernon until 1982. Nine years later, the abandoned railway line gave birth to Knox County’s first rail-to-trail, the Kokosing Gap Trail.
The Mount Vernon to Gambier section of the Kokosing Gap Trail opened to the public on October 5, 1991, with the section continuing on to Danville opening in 1994. The trail has revitalized the green corridor, and on most days, hundreds of walkers, runners and cyclists enjoy the trail.