Star City Recreation

Star City Recreation. 1951 - Present. , A New Lease on the Line , As industries changed, and transportation shifted to trucks and automobiles, Star City's riverfront and adjacent rail corridor was used less. Concerned by the disappearance of America's rail network, the U.S. Congress in 1983, created the "Rail-banking Program," which preserved rail corridors through interim trail use, reserving the ability to restore rail service if needed. Thus began the rise of public recreational Rail-Trails, and revitalization of the Star City riverfront., The Rails Reborn , By 1996, the Chessie x Seaboard Corridor (CSX, formerly FM&P) was abandoned, rail-banked, and paved for public use. Star City is now one stop on the 29-mile Mon River Rail-Trail, popular with walkers, cyclists, runners, and cross-country skiers, that is managed by the Mon River Trails Conservancy (www.montrails.org). In 2015, the reclaimed Quality Glass site north of Star City became the Van Voorhis Trailhead for the Mon River Trail., It Takes a Village , Under Mayor Allen Sharp in 2005, Tugboat Depot playground, now a popular destination in Edith Barill Park, was constructed by citizens from children's design ideas. This section of the Rail Trail is also bordered by memorial trees and benches, projects led by Morgantown North Rotary Club. The 2001 Star City Riverfront Revitalization Master Plan directed development of public amenities, including Edith Barill Riverfront Park, a universally accessible fishing deck, and the John F. Kennedy and Veterans' Memorials., A Labor of Love , Between 2018 and 2021, under Mayor Herman Reid, a major effort was made to improve Edith Barill Park by restaining wood structures, replacing an old dock with a kayak/canoe launch, stabilizing and landscaping the riverbank, replacing the boat ramp, and introducing a new pavilion, now supporting a weekly Farmers Market. These citizen-driven projects have transformed Star City's riverfront, giving it new life and purpose for public enjoyment., [Captions:], Surveying for the Interceptor Sewage Plant, Morgantown, W. Va. (ca. 1960-1970) , West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries , Source: Morgantown Post - West Virginia History OnView, Taking in the Newly Constructed Kayak Launch at the Van Voorhis Trialhead (2016) , Source: Carla Kesling, Morgantown Area Paddlers, The Cautionary Lines in Front of Tugboat Depot are Reminiscient of the Old Tracks (2019) , Source: Mary Wimmer, Morgantown Area Paddlers (MAP), Morgantown North Rotary (MNR), and Upper Mon River Association (UMRA), Families Playing at the Tugboat Depot Grand Opening (2005) , Source: Rae Jean Sielen, Morgantown North Rotary, Members of Morgantown Area Paddlers Enjoy the New Kayak Launch at Edith Barill Park (2018) , Source: Mary Wimmer, MAP/MNR/UMRA, Volunteers Work with Crew Members From Premier Landscaping to Stabilize the Edith Barill Park Riverbank (2019) , Source: Mary Wimmer, MAP/MNR/UMRA