New section connects the Towpath Trail to Bolivar, past to present
Construction began Nov. 18 on a quarter-mile section that will connect the McDonnell Trailhead to the rest of the Towpath Trail in Bolivar, completing 90 miles of trail from Lake Erie to Camp Tuscazoar.
Construction on the final piece to connect the Ohio and Erie Towpath Trail to the village of Bolivar has begun. Work has been delayed by everything from obtaining permission from property owners and a truck hitting the railroad bridge to the migratory flight path of the Indiana bat.
As Joe Rinehart said, “You can’t make this stuff up.”
Rinehart is one of five property owners who gave the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition permission to cross his land. The others are the Ohio Department of Transportation, Tuscarawas County Commissioners, the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, and Mr. and Mrs. Dick Harvey. A sixth property owner, Marie Whitmer, was needed to sign the agreement because she had an egress easement through 12 feet of Rinehart’s property for her driveway.
“We are very grateful to everyone for their assistance and cooperation with the development of this important trail connection,” said Dan Rice, OECC president and CEO. “This section will eliminate a critical gap in the 90-mile trail.”
Rinehart’s home sits right in the middle of that gap. The quarter-mile addition will connect the McDonnell Trailhead at the border of Tuscarawas and Stark counties to the rest of the trail where it picks up just inside the village limits.
“This new section will eliminate a real hazard too,” Rinehart said.
As it stands now, trail users coming from the north have to walk or cycle along a narrow curve under a railroad bridge on state Route 212 to venture into Bolivar or to continue to points further south. It also is likely to encourage people to come into the village who otherwise would turn around and head back north after reaching the McDonnell Trailhead.
“Ever since the trailhead was dedicated in 2016, I’ve seen an increase in backpackers and cyclists going into Bolivar,” said Rinehart, who expects to see a great deal more once the connection is complete.
A boardwalk and canopy are part of the plan
The new trail section will wind its way through a wooded area and under the railroad bridge. A canopy will be built under the bridge to protect hikers and cyclists from any possible falling debris as trains travel the track overhead.
A 90-foot boardwalk also will be constructed to take trail users over the canal and into the village limits.
Bridging the past with the present
Rinehart, who is knowledgeable about the history of the area, becomes as animated when talking about past events as he does the future of the trail.
“The Greenville Treaty line runs right through my property,” Rinehart said.
Signed in 1795 between the United States and indigenous nations, what is now the Midwestern U.S., the treaty redefined the boundary between American Indian lands and territory to be used for European American settlement.
“It came after the Battle of Fallen Timbers and was the first peace treaty signed under our current form of government,” Rinehart said of the fight that ended major hostilities in the region. “Fort Laurens is even mentioned in the treaty.”
Extending the history lesson, Rinehart pointed out the land owned by Dick Harvey that will be crossed by the new trail section. “His land was the site of the largest Delaware Indian village in Ohio,” he said. “About 400 people lived here on the south side of the Tuscarawas River. Christian Frederick Post was a Moravian missionary who was given about a quarter-acre there and built the first log cabin to be owned by a white man in Ohio.”
The Great Trail, a network of footpaths created by Native Americans, also runs through the area. The trail served as the main route between Pittsburgh and Detroit, where two key frontier garrison settlements had been established. Beginning in Delaware, the Great Trail went through Pennsylvania to Zoar and Bolivar, then northwest to Sandusky and points west.
One of the Towpath Trail’s most ardent supporters, Rinehart wants to help preserve the history of the region and advance the trail while also sustaining the environment. He asked for no money when giving permission for the trail to cross his property. Instead, he asked the OECC to plant two fruit or nut trees native to Ohio for every tree they had to cut down.
Rinehart has established a primitive camping site on his land that includes four campsites, complete with fire pits, umbrella-covered picnic tables, log benches and recycling bins. This year the Peace Camp welcomed 77 campers from points near and far including Cleveland, Denver, Ann Arbor and Chicago.
“The property owners here donated our land to fulfill the dream of connecting the trail from the north from Tuscarawas County,” Rinehart said. “It’s going to be exciting to see the economic synergies developing in the communities connected to the Ohio-Erie Canalway Towpath Trail in the near future.”