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Twentieth Century Railroads, Trails and Greenspaces
This section provides a review of important historical events
of the twentieth century that pertain to trail building for the
twenty-first century. The three areas in which these historical
events occurred are the rise and fall of the railroad, natural
trail building efforts and the designation of significant greenspaces.
Huge extensive trail systems were created within the greenspaces
making them perfect destinations for other trails.
The rise and fall of New England railroads is important because
of what was left behind. The rail boom of yesterday is the trail
boom of today. The decline of the railroad left behind approximately
4,000 miles of abandoned railroad out of the 7,000 total built
miles of railroad in New England (Nielsen, 1992, pp.1-169). These
abandon railroads are the framework for future trails.
New England's opportunity for making connections, having destinations
and hubs for trails is amazing. New England in the twenty-first
century has the potential for having the worlds first interconnected
state trail system that ties six states together in a comprehensive
manner.
Twentieth Century Railroads in New England
In the early years of the twentieth century, 1900-1920, the popularity
of trains began to wane with the introduction of the automobile.
With this new outcrop of motorized transportation the railroads
began to experience rejection from its patrons. Recently introduced
trucks also helped eliminate the need for freight transportation
by train. The railroads began to suffer from dwindling passenger
and freight market.
The fourteen major railroads that dominated New England in the
1870's consolidated into six major companies at the beginning
of the twentieth century. The six remaining railroad companies
would have a strong hold in New England for the next several
decades. These include; the Bangor & Aroostook, Maine Central
- Boston & Maine, Central Vermont, Rutland, Boston &
Albany New York Central and New Haven (Karr, 1996, p.36).
There was a brief resurgence with the occurrence of World
War II. Troops and equipment needed to be transported. Industries
creating gear and weapons needed the railroads to haul mass quantities.
However, the prosperity of the decade was not enough and another
decline soon began.
Automobiles proved to be the railroads greatest bane. After
W.W.II, everyone wanted a car and a house in suburbia. The production
of automobiles and highway systems occurred at a phenomenal rate.
The railroads were forgotten as Americans fell in love with the
automobile. By 1950, nearly 3,000,000 miles of highway had been
built in the United States (WBE, Vol. XVI, 1975, p.334).
By the 1960's new discoveries and technologies further eliminated
the economical use of railroads. The railroad industry was faced
with massive rail abandonments. In the 1970's, nearly all New
England railroads faced bankruptcy. With new management, the
railroad companies dropped unnecessary lines, eliminated cabooses,
and renegotiated union contracts. These events were enough to
turn the tracks around in the 1980's. For the first time in many
decades, railroads earned profits (Karr, 1996, p.39).
However, many rail lines were abandoned. By 1990, thousands
of miles of abandoned railroads slumbered in the woods, valleys
and towns of New England. These sleeping rail corridors are like
gold waiting to be discovered by the communities that surround
them.
Twentieth Century Trails in New England
The Appalachian Trail
Benton MacKaye first conceived of the Appalachian Trail in 1921
(Yahner et al, 1995, p. 296). "He envisioned a footpath
along the Appalachian ridgeline where urban people could retreat
to nature (Sills ET al, 1996, p.1)". Within 16 years, a
trail from Springer Mountain, Georgia north to Katahdin, Maine
was created. The Appalachian Trail is more than 2,150 miles in
length. The trail crosses over fourteen states including the
New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New
Hampshire and Maine. Volunteers completed the trail on August
14, 1937.
Conceiving the idea to create an interstate trail and watching
it come to fruition was just the first part of the dream called
the Appalachian Trail. It was E.B. Ballard, in 1938, who proposed
that it should be protected for future generations. Ballard's
"Appalachian Trailways" plan was effective for nearly
a decade. Then encroachment from development caused parts of
the trail to be relocated. In 1968, the National Trails System
Act was enacted to protect trails against incompatible activities
and motorized vehicles. In 1978, the Appalachian Trail bill was
passed that authorized over $90 million for the protective corridor
along the trail (Hooke, 1998, p.3). By the twenty-first century
the entire 2,150 miles of trail will be in a protected corridor,
kept safe for future generations.
In New England, the Appalachian Trail spans over 600 miles, approximately
28% of its total length. The Trail enters western Connecticut
from New York and goes north through the Berkshire Mountains
of western Massachusetts. The trail then enters Vermont via the
Green Mountains where it joins its predecessor the Long Trail.
Midway in Vermont, just north of Rutland, the Appalachian Trail
veers to the east towards New Hampshire leaving the Long Trail
to continue north. The Appalachian Trail then wanders through
the White Mountains of New Hampshire to its destination through
central Maine where it ends in Baxter State Park. The Appalachian
Trail Conference, a conglomeration of all the Appalachian Trail
Clubs, currently manages The Appalachian Trail.
The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail
A retired professor from the University of Massachusetts, Walter
Banfield, was the originator of the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail
(M&M Trail). His idea was to connect the Blue Trail system
in Connecticut to the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway in New Hampshire.
The 117-mile M&M Trail begins in Meridan, Connecticut running
north along the Connecticut River valley. The trail then meanders
along the ridge on top of the Mount Tom Mountain Range. The M&M
Trail continues north until it reaches Mount Monadnock where
it hooks into the 51 mile Monadnock-Sunappee Greenway. This trail
is currently under the care of the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian
Trail Club (Banfield, 1995, p.2).
The Long Trail
In 1910, The Long Trail was the first officially designated long-distance
trail in the United States, and it served as the prototype for
the Appalachian Trail (Boken Communications, 1998, www). James
P. Taylor conceived of the Long Trail, which begins at the border
of Massachusetts and heads north to Canada. It is 265 miles in
length and has an elevation gain of 2,300'. The majority of the
trail traverses the Green Mountain National Forest. The Long
Trail is currently under the care of The Green Mountain Club,
Incorporate.
Three Twentieth Century Greenspaces and Their Trail Networks
For the sake of this study, greenspace is a general term that
will be used to group state parks, national parks and national
forests into one generic category. Greenspaces consist of substantial
areas of wilderness that are designated for public use and enjoyment
while maintaining its natural state. The combined greenspaces
of New England have nearly two thousand miles of hiking trails,
and all have the potential to be trail hubs.
Baxter State Park
Baxter State Park is located in the north central part of Maine.
It is a 201,018-acre block of wilderness given to the people
of the state of Maine from governor Percival Baxter (DeLorne,
1998, p.8). The park is filled with interesting geological finds
such as kettle holes, pink granite boulders, and glacial land
formations. It is covered in hardwood forest and is the home
of Mount Katahdin. There is 175 miles of interconnecting trails
within Baxter State Park (DeLorne, 1998, p.7).
White Mountain National Forest
The White Mountain National Forest is a huge greenspace located
in the northern portion of New Hampshire and Maine. The forest
is 768,000 acres and is filled with beautiful waterfalls, mountain
vistas and gorges. The White Mountain National Forest is the
largest single greenspace in New England and offers many opportunities
for outdoor recreation. Within the park there are 1167 miles
interconnecting trails that are available to the hiking enthusiasts
(DeLorne, 1998, p.8).
Green Mountain National Forest
The Green Mountain National Forest is located in south-central
and mid-central Vermont. It is a greenspace divided into two
sections by the city of Rutland. The Long Trail runs along the
mountain ridges in a north-south direction within the Green Mountain
National Forest. The Green Mountain National Forest is filled
with spectacular mountain vistas and pristine forests. It has
nearly 650 miles of interconnecting trails and it is one of Vermont's
most prized jewels.
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