River Towns Await Collaboration to Attract Increased Trail
Business
Washington PA Observer Reporter
28 October 2011
By Tara Kinsell, Staff writer
tkinsell@observer-reporter.com
There was a time when Greensboro, Rices Landing, Point Marion,
California and Fredericktown were thriving river towns. The
craftsmen in these Washington and Greene County towns drew
travelers on the Monongahela River onto their shores, but there is
little evidence that is happening today.
That may change if lightening strikes twice for the development
company that reinvented the trail towns along the Greater
Allegheny Passage.
McCollum Development Strategies of Connellsville partnered with
towns along the GAP to create a brand image that would increase
business and draw tourism to the area.
It was so successful that the Claude Worthington Benedum
Foundation has approved a two-year funding stream to the Upper
Monongahela River Towns Program to do the same type of project
that could benefit these river communities in Washington and
Greene counties.
Services for the project are through a partnership between the
National Parks Service, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and
the Student Conservation Association.
Residents of these five communities have a reason to be optimistic
that each might thrive once again.
The Benedum Foundation jumped on board after they saw the success
of a similar collaboration of trail towns along the Great
Allegheny Passage.
Signage is a key step in tying these towns together, according to
Richelle Mateucci Marini, an assistant to Catherine McCollum,
owner of the consulting firm.
"The creation of signs with a common look to brand these five
towns as river towns will be the first step," she said. "After
that a newsletter and brochures will be developed that highlight
the assets each town has to offer. When you see the signs, you
will know you are in one of the Upper Monongahela River Towns."
The planners have two years to come up with something sustainable
and perpetuating of community involvement.
"That is the key to the success of the project," Marini said.
"There has to be community involvement. The people living here
have to want this to happen. This is a very exciting thing to be
involved with."
In the trail towns that border the GAP, they found the longer
people were on the trail, the more services they needed. That led
them off of the trail and into the communities to use the services
available. It spiraled into more businesses and new services in
towns that were once struggling. Now the GAP is a tourist
destination for outdoor enthusiasts.
Using that same outdoor approach as part of the UMRT program, the
National Park Service Rivers & Trails staff will assist in
creating "Paddles On The Mon" events, to encourage community
members to explore the river in canoes and kayaks. These
themed-day trips will create a stronger connection to the river,
expand the palette of business opportunities and promote river
conservation and stewardship.
The National Park Service's involvement comes through the Rivers,
Trails and Conservation Assistance Program. The UMRT program is
one of only four projects accepted in Pennsylvania this year.
"We will be giving technical assistance," said Peggy Pings,
Outdoor Recreation Planner and Program Manager for the National
Parks Service. "We will offer different topics each time we are on
the river or the major tributaries, such as Dunkard Creek and
Cheat Lake."
Tying the river to the history to create a tourist destination in
these towns won't be an easy task, but it is one that many local
leaders believe in, according to Darlene Urban Garrett, Elm Street
Manager for Greensboro.
"I am confident that we can make this happen. Everyone has to be
engaged in the process," she said. "There are some really
outstanding people working to make this happen."