Planning for the addition of a civil rights walking trail in North Carrollton has begun, Mayor Ken Strachan says.
The trail is to be located on the railroad tracks headed east toward Marshall Elementary School.
Strachan said he has been working on this idea since his first term as mayor in 2001. During that time, he had an ongoing dialogue with North Carrollton resident Mildred Burkes about the North Carrollton portion of the unused railroad.
They “had talked about wanting to do something for the property and something of historical significance and with civil rights and education,” he said.
Burkes died in 2004, and Strachan then left the mayor’s office to become coroner, putting the trail on the back burner. Now he wants to see it through.
He said he has received unanimous support from both the North Carrollton Board of Aldermen and the Carroll County Board of Supervisors.
“I wanted to show total support from the county and the municipal government,” he said. “I want to lean on everybody for us to be able to get this done.”
What the trail will look like is still in the preliminary stages.
Strachan said the Board of Aldermen has approved establishing a five-person committee to select significant events and figures that may be featured on historical markers. Three members of that committee are retired Carroll County educators. Strachan said he hopes to fill the other two spots this month.
Costs for the trail have not been finalized, but Strachan said one estimate floated to him was $325,000.
Strachan said the county has provided equipment to clean up the walking trail area, and he is seeking grant funding. He said the timeline for the trail’s construction will depend on how fast grant applications can be approved.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
