Fredericktown's Owl Creek Trail today occupies the site of what began in the 1850s as the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad. By the turn of the twentieth century, the line had been bought out by the B. & O. Railroad.

OPEN SOURCE

We published this story in response to a reader suggestion. Do you have a tip for our reporters? Click here to submit it.

FREDERICKTOWN — Lori Totman had one goal when she took the director job at Knox County Parks District — finish the Ohio to Erie Trail in Knox County. The job is done.

Though one question she received before and during her tenure still persists: When will Fredericktown have a trail to Mount Vernon?

Background

In 2014, Fredericktown completed construction of the Owl Creek Trail and opened this recreational infrastructure to the public, Fredericktown Village Administrator Bruce Snell said.

This 1.5-mile asphalt trail runs along the old Baltimore & Ohio Railroad bed, from Community Park, on the north end of the Village, all the way to the southern corporation limits of the Village, at Melick Drive, Snell said.

“Mayor and Council would be delighted to see our neighboring political jurisdictions and/or private organizations continue this pedestrian/bicycle trail to either Mount Vernon, Butler, or some sort of destination, such as Knox Lake or Kokosing Reservoir,” he said.

“Continuing the Owl Creek Trail to other destinations would not only give the Fredericktown community additional recreation options, but it may also serve in supporting the local economy by bringing visitors of all ages to Fredericktown.

“We hope in the near future other parties will take up their shovels and extend the Owl Creek trail well beyond the Village corporation limits.”

Totman agreed with Snell, noting the recent infrastructure improvements at Fredericktown.

Connecting a trail to Mount Vernon and Fredericktown isn’t as straightforward as it may sound, Totman explained.

The rail line connecting the city and village is private property, adding interested parties wanting to make the trail a reality likely will have to use a multitude of land to complete it.

Despite the hurdles, Totman said she’s “very confident that there will be a trail from Mount Vernon to Fredericktown.

“I’m very confident someday that will happen. It may not look like anything that, that we all have envisioned, but I’m very confident that it will happen.”