Trail under construction:
Firefly Trail
Location:
Athens to Union Point,
Georgia
Used railroad corridor:
Athens Branch
of the Georgia Railroad
Length:
39 miles
Surface:
Athens-Clarke County will
pave the northern end of the trail
with concrete; the rural sections of
the trail in Oglethorpe and Greene
counties will most likely be gravel.
Eye On:
Georgia’s Firefly Trail
By Laura Stark
In the late 1800s, when Georgia Railroad
trains rumbled through the rural darkness
between Athens and Union Point, embers
from the wood-burning engines would
flicker in the night sky. Farmers began
calling the line “Firefly.” Today, locals
are hoping to spark interest in a 39-mile
multi-use trail along that
old rail corridor.
Mike Hall, president
of Firefly Trail, Inc.,
says the group is busy
planning the trail’s first
section in Athens. “We
want to get something
on the ground so people
can start seeing the ben-
efits of it and see it as a
catalyst for getting the
rest of the trail done. We
hope it will bring a lot of
momentum.”
Athens, a thriving college town that
is home to the University of Georgia,
will be the northern gateway to the trail.
Construction of the Firefly Trail here is
anticipated to begin in January 2016 and
be completed by year’s end.
“Currently, we’re focusing our efforts
on the northernmost eight-tenths of a
mile, from East Broad Street near down-
town to Old Winterville Road,” says
Nancy Denson, Athens-Clarke County
mayor. “This is the most expensive
and difficult portion of the entire trail,
but it will be incredibly scenic. Almost
immediately, trail users will cross the
North Oconee River and Wilkerson
Street on a bridge about 40 feet high
and some 600 feet long. The trail will
then enter Dudley Park, where trail users
can connect with the North Oconee
River Greenway trail and also see the
historic Trail Creek trestle, which R.E.M.
made famous on the back cover of its
‘Murmur’ album.”
From Athens, the trail will head east
to Winterville and then south through
a handful of small towns—many of
which began in the railroad heyday—to
end at Union Point. The rail-trail will
roll through open fields, pastures and
forested areas, where deer, opossums,
armadillos, coyotes and a variety of birds
might be spotted.
“I think the Firefly Trail will be a really
good shot in the arm for Winterville,”
says Emily Pennington Eisenman,
Winterville’s mayor. “It will bring recre-
ational opportunities, economic develop-
ment and tourism. It’s really exciting.”
In the quiet countryside, the past still
lingers. In Winterville, the trail will pass
through a concentration of historical
buildings, including a former train depot
that has been renovated and painted a
welcoming yellow, and is now used as a
community center, and the Carter-Coile
Country Doctor’s Museum, which pro-
vides a rare glimpse into a rural medical
practice from the late 1800s. But the trail
also will offer something new to the area:
a safe place for residents to walk and bike.
“I live in a small town of 220 residents
that lies almost in the middle of the old
rail corridor,” says John Stephens, former
Maxeys mayor and past president of
Firefly Trail, Inc. “We have streets, but no
sidewalks. Presently, if one of our young
mothers takes her children out walking,
it’s in the street. The trail would be a safer
alternative.”
Although much more needs to be
done to complete the trail’s entire 39-mile
length, Denson says the effort to build
the Firefly Trail enjoys strong community
support.
“I know almost every trail ever built
has had to deal with opposition, but
I have heard very little opposition to
this trail in Athens-Clarke County,” she
says. “I think most people are looking
forward to the trail and its promise to
breathe energy and investment into our
community.”
For more information, visit
fireflytrail.com
.
Winterville’s
former railroad
depot will serve
as a welcome stop
along the future
Firefly Trail.
Emma Foley, courtesy the city of winterville
Courtesy firefly trail, inc.
Downtown Maxeys, a charming community
along the future rail-trail, as seen from the
remnants of the rail corridor
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