McDowell Prepared to Roll Up its Sleeves for Sake of Hatfield-McCoy Trail Progress

With construction expected to begin this summer on the Hatfield-McCoy Trail in McDowell County , officials are extending an offer of manpower and equipment to help extend the trail network.

A new Hatfield and McCoy's Connector Committee has been formed, and will meet monthly to help promote the trail development in McDowell County, and the possibility of additional trail connector points across the county, Cathy Patton, a spokeswoman for the county commission, said.

Patton said members of the new committee, which will meet on the first and fourth Monday of each month at 4 p.m. at the commission conference room, include War Mayor Tom Hatcher, Anawalt Mayor Eva Sue Rash, and Commissioners Gordon Lambert and Judy Cortellesi. “The purpose of this committee is to just promote McDowell County 's inclusion into the Hatfield and McCoy Trail,” Patton said.

Construction on a 100-mile segment of the ATV trail is expected to begin this summer in McDowell County . The McDowell County trail segment will connect with Wyoming County and take the trail network all the way to Ashland , near the Mercer County border.

However, only a single trail head site is currently planned in McDowell County at Ashland . As a result, committee members are hoping to promote additional trail connector sites in other locations of the county, including the Big Creek District, and additional communities along the U.S. Route 52 corridor.

“We need to tie it all together,” Lambert said. “We have just seen what it (the trail) has done for other counties – especially Mingo and Logan – and we would like to have the same benefits.”

Lambert said the county is prepared to offer equipment and manpower to assist with the trail development, particularly if additional connector points can be established throughout the county.

The existing 400 miles of the trail already is attracting thousands of visitors annually to Mingo, Logan, Boone, and Wyoming counties. After a 100-mile segment of the trail system is opened in McDowell County , construction will then move to Wayne, Lincoln, and Mercer counties, as well as to a proposed off-road park development in Kanawha County .

--Charles Owens (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)