Between Clinton and Calhoun, a 9.4-mile stretch crosses open pastures and reclaimed land from coal strip-mining operations of the 1950s to 1980s, with wide vistas, short stretches of woodland, and a route entirely within the Osage Plains. Before settlement, the area was characterized by tallgrass prairies cut by wooded streams, and prairie remnants remain as restoration efforts work to return the trail corridor to its pre-settlement appearance, especially between mileposts 257 and 258. Remains of old telegraph lines are visible along the route; the telegraph allowed agents and dispatchers to communicate train departures, arrivals, and other important information. The railroad through this section was first constructed in July 1870, and the few remaining telegraph poles are believed to date from that period. Along this stretch lies the railroad community of Lewis at milepost 259.5, named in 1871 for Howell Lewis, land survey chairman for Henry County and a great-nephew of George Washington. Commercial coal mining in the county began at Lewis and remained a major producing area until after 1987. Lewis Station was also the site of a fatal 1904 wreck in which Katy Railroad engineer John Shane was killed after Katy Flyer No. 6, a passenger train, hit an open switch at the south end of the passing track, drove onto the side track, and left wreckage piled 30 feet high.