A trailhead for the new Shirley Heritage Trail marks a starting point for the asphalt path that’s just over a mile long.
Mitchell Kirk | Daily Reporter
SHIRLEY — A new trail providing exercise opportunities while celebrating the town of Shirley’s history is nearly complete.
At just over a mile long, the Shirley Heritage Trail spans east along Railroad Street from the Jane Ross Reeves Octagon House before continuing across Main Street and looping around the town’s park, where the trail connects back into itself. It consists almost entirely of an 8-foot-wide asphalt path, except for a short stretch along Railroad Street east of First Street, where it runs along the north side of the road painted in red.
The trail has benches along it as well as display boards recounting the town’s history, from its platting in 1890 when a railroad was built through the area, followed by the discovery of natural gas deposits nearby and how more businesses sprouted over the decades that followed.
Shirley got about $1.6 million, which it used to build the trail and make improvements to the park’s softball field. The town hopes to use funding to improve the park’s tennis and basketball courts as well.
The award was part of Hancock County, Greenfield and Fortville’s inclusion in the state’s Stellar Communities Program, a multi-year initiative that provides funds and funding opportunities for community improvement projects. Stellar Communities has also facilitated Greenfield’s new Depot Street Park, downtown facade improvements in Greenfield and Fortville, and other projects.
Teresa Hester, Shirley clerk-treasurer and member of the community improvement group Shirley Visionaries, estimates the trail is about 95% complete, with just a few odds and ends to finish.
She said the trail aligns with the spirit of the Stellar Communities partnership created among the county, Greenfield and Fortville, called the Health & Heritage Region. Hester pointed to the historical elements along the trail, like the display boards and train caboose built in 1910 that’s currently being restored. The trail also promotes health by offering a place to walk, run and ride bicycles, she continued, adding it’s already getting plenty of use.
“We have seen people on this trail since early spring even, when it was in the 30s and 40s,” Hester said. “People were already out walking on it. You can’t go up to the park without seeing someone up there, whether they’re on the trail, or playground, or somewhere in the park.”
Andy Ebbert, a member and past president of Shirley Visionaries, said he’s grateful to the county, Greenfield and Fortville for including Shirley in their Stellar benefits.
He recalled attending sessions on ways to enhance economic and community development provided by the Hancock County Community Foundation that promoted creating assets that encourage residents to remain in and move to communities.
“I think that’s the direction the trail helps us go in,” Ebbert said.
Shirley celebrated a ribbon-cutting for the trail last weekend during its annual Strawberry Festival. In attendance were Neil Elkins of the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, which oversees the Stellar Communities Program, and Indiana Sen. Michael Crider, R-Greenfield, who represents Hancock County and grew up just a couple blocks from the Shirley Heritage Trail’s trailhead near the Octagon House.
At the ceremony, Crider commended the work that went into getting the funding for the trail.
“Indiana as a state is doing very well,” he said. “One of the things that we have that needs to be improved is our metrics around wellness and fitness, and this trail will give folks an opportunity to get out and exercise and use the trail, and so that’s a great addition to the amenities that the town of Shirley can offer.”
