Connecting the Chase County Community

The idea of connecting Cottonwood Falls and Strong City with a trail was first suggested in 1904 as a limestone sidewalk, but it was not realized for a century. The Community Connection Trail begins at the front steps of the Chase County Courthouse in Cottonwood Falls, a building constructed from 1871 to 1873 and long the center of county business, with exterior restoration completed before interior restoration finished in the summer of 2008. From there the trail runs north along Broadway Street to the Cottonwood River Bridge, built in 1914 at a cost of $13,700, used until the 1970's, listed on the National Register in 1985, and restored and reopened on November 22, 2007 for pedestrian and bicycle traffic after a preservation effort begun in 2004. North of the bridge, the trail passes Bates Grove Park and continues along a route paralleling highway K-177 that was built and opened while the bridge was under restoration. Designed first for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, the trail also serves local walkers, runners, and families with strollers. In Strong City it follows Cottonwood Street, where sidewalks on the west side north to 6th Street are at least 5 feet wide and include ADA approved ramps and approaches, then crosses the BNSF railroad tracks on Cottonwood Street and Topeka Avenue. Nearby stands the authentic Santa Fe Depot, built in the County Seat style and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The trail continues through downtown Strong City past the Strong City Auditorium, or Theater and Opera House, which was listed on the State Register in 2001 and held its grand opening on April 19th, 1901, an event for which the Santa Fe Railroad offered special round trip fares from Topeka, Newton, and Abilene. At 6th and Cottonwood Street, the route turns west for 3 blocks, passes the Barney Lantry House, and then heads north on Lantry Lane toward Highway 50 and the Stockmans' Underpass. After Highway 50 was moved north from downtown Strong City in 1951, the underpass provided farmers and ranchers a way to drive cattle from the railroad stock yards to pastures in the hills, and it now carries trail users toward the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve trail system. Just north of the underpass is a small hand built stone culvert restored by the preserve, showing the principles used in Chase County's many stone arch bridges. At County Road 227, the trail turns west and crosses the Fox Creek Bridge, another stone arch bridge listed on the National Register of Historic Places and still open to everyday traffic, providing one of the connections to more than 41 miles of trails in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

Cottonwood Falls, Kansas · United States