News

No longer a question of 'if,' trail is a question of 'when'

Speakers celebrating the start of construction of the Ecusta Trail included, clockwise from top left, John Mitchell, Carey O’Cain, Laura McNichol, Kieran Roe, Maureen Copelof and Rebecca McCall.

By Bill Moss, Published: October 31, 2023

HORSE SHOE — In all 365 days of North Carolina’s “Year of the Trail” it would be hard to imagine a more exemplary day of celebration than Saturday, when more than 500 people gathered in a farm field to mark the start of the Ecusta Trail, the 19-mile Hendersonville-to-Brevard greenway that a stubborn band of dreamers first envisioned 15 years ago.

City and county leaders, volunteers and other cheerleaders invoked the advent of train travel 135 years ago, praised the economic, tourism and health benefits of the trail and saluted the extraordinary intergovernmental and public-private partnerships that have made the trail a reality during a sun-soaked groundbreaking ceremony at Veterans Healing Farm.

“I’m still pinching myself that it’s actually going to happen,” said Mark Tooley, chair of the friends at Ecusta Trail. “Fifteen years ago, a group of individuals from Henderson County — and you heard some of the names, Chris and Hunter and Joe and Ken — had a vision of this trail between Hendersonville and Brevard and the dream for this trail and the organization known as Friends of Ecusta Trail were born.”

Those leaders at the genesis would be Chris Burns, Hunter Marks, Joe Sanders and Ken Shelton, the bullheaded founders who pushed and cajoled and persuaded elected leaders and functionaries at every level — shedding doubters and converting skeptics time after time. In the end, they had assembled a powerful team of believers that would eventually work to draw down nearly $65 million in state and federal funding for the rail-trail. Still under way is an aggressive fundraising campaign to raise corporate and private dollars to match government grants and pay for trail amenities.

“We have worked to seek support from state and local governments, nonprofits, non-governmental partners, businesses and local residents,” Tooley said. “The outpouring of support has been overwhelming, and is the reason we are here today. I want to thank every one of you for sticking with us through this journey and for the trust and confidence that you’ve placed in us.”

No longer an ‘if’ question, it’s a ‘when’ question

Saturday’s ceremonial turning of dirt — at mile 4.3 of the trail — marked the upcoming start of work on the first six-mile segment from Hendersonville to U.S. 64 in Horse Shoe. Here’s a sample of other remarks:

• “Talking about the railroad coming in 1879 and transforming the region — in my mind, this is second only to that as far as being transformative of this region, Henderson and Transylvania, not only because of the economics and the ability to bring in good clean industry,” Commissioner Michael Edney said. “I read somewhere, people don’t walk unless it’s easy and convenient. This will be easy and convenient. I’m hoping that we can put Advent and Pardee out of business because everybody will be so healthy because they’re taking care of themselves.”
• “I love when something old is revitalized and becomes something new,” Board of Commissioners Chair Rebecca McCall said. “When I announced that I was going to be running for county commissioner (the Friends of Ecusta Trail) was the first group that reached out to me to share their dream and their passion for what this can be. All of them put together a trail plan and presented it to the county and without that plan we would not have been able to move forward.”
• “First time I ever met Chuck Edwards — before he ever got an idea that he wanted to get into politics — we were at a chamber meeting and I saw a man cornering NCDOT and giving them the business,” County Manager John Mitchell recalled. “And I went over there and he was upbraiding them about how they needed to get their act together and get the Ecusta Trail done.”
• “I look forward to the day that is coming soon when Brevard, Etowah, Horse Shoe, Laurel Park and Hendersonville are linked together by the Ecusta Trail,” Brevard Mayor Maureen Copelof said. “The city of Brevard rejoices with our Henderson County brothers and sisters on what is truly a regional project.”
• “The culmination of this is kind of poignant because in two more years — in 2025 — it will be the 100th anniversary of the town of Laurel Park, so we’ll be able to celebrate the completion of the Ecusta Trail and the widening of Highway 64” along with the town’s birthday, Mayor Carey O’Cain said. “We’re so thrilled with all that is happening.”
• “I for one am extremely moved by all of the people that have come out today. It really just shows you what a great example of community collaboration that the Ecusta Trail is,” Hendersonville Mayor pro tem Lyndsey Simpson said. “We’re so proud to partner with Henderson County, Laurel Park, the city of Brevard and all the other community partners to make the trail a reality and we look forward to connecting the Ecusta Trail to other greenways in our region.”
• “So many have done so much,” said Kieran Roe, executive director of Conserving Carolina, which bought the rail corridor and leased it to Henderson County for 150 years for $1/year. “I have been particularly impressed how Henderson County and Brevard have been working together now to raise the money that allows us to say with confidence — it’s not an ‘if’ question at this point, it’s a ‘when’ question when this trail is completed from Hendersonville to Brevard.”

Watco: ‘Show us that you’re serious’

Laura McNichol, senior vice president for government and industry relations for Watco, recalled her first meeting with Ecusta Trail advocates over lunch at the Hendersonville Country Club.

“It was 2017, my very first trip was here,” she said. “They told me about this trail. I’m brand new on the job. We had bought the railroad in 2014 — two lines that are very active and this line — so buy two and get this one that doesn’t do anything.”

She explained that Watco, parent company of Blue Ridge Southern Railroad, wanted to first explore resurrecting the line.

“We acquire these properties for the purpose of moving freight,” she said. “That’s the business we’re in. We’re freight railroaders. Give us some time to see if there is a customer that would return to this region that would justify us restoring the line and bring it back into service. I said, just give us five years, and we stuck to that commitment.”

Five years passed — no freight customer.

“I said to them, ‘If you’re serious about this, show me that you’re serious about it, like how are you going to pay for it? This is private property, we paid for it, you know, it’s not free.’”

The trail friends responded. Watco was persuaded that “it’s probably time to let it go, and so at Blue Ridge Southern Railroad, we’re just proud to be partners here.”

‘The two Chucks’

Tooley, the Friends of Ecusta Trail chair, thanked the partners that formed the team that have now scored the biggest tourism-oriented economic development prize in memory: Henderson County, the cities of Hendersonville, Laurel Park and Brevard, Land of Sky Regional Council, NCDOT, Blue Ridge Southern Railroad, the tourism agencies of Henderson County and Transylvania County and Alta Planning, which did the feasibility study in 2014 and more recently guided grant writing.

“I also want to thank two individuals that have served pivotal roles in this project and have been past board members as well,” he said. “We fondly refer to them as the two Chucks —former state senator and now Congressman Chuck Edwards, and former state Rep. Chuck McGrady. We would not be here today without their work behind the scenes. We will work to respect and preserve the history of this rail line and, starting today, we will celebrate its future as the Ecusta Trail.”