The Shawnee Recreation Trail Committee met January 29, 2008 at the LIFE Center Meeting room. Discussion focused on the Trail Right of Way Research being conducted by Mary Ellen Kimberlin, LLC. Research focused on whether or not the Old Ohio River Road was abandoned. This road is also known as: Old River Road, Stone Road, Buena Vista Free Turnpike, Old Carriage Road. At the time of the meeting there was no official report, however, Mrs. Kimberlin submitted her Research Summary later in the week following this meeting.

Main Points of Research:

A two-page summary provides the historical background of the area dating back to the early settlement of Alexandria in 1752. Early historical documents provide evidence that there was a route from Alexandria across the Scioto River to Portsmouth at one time. There is a road record dated September 30, 1851 that documents the mouth of the Scioto River has changed from the original time Alexandria was settled by 3/4 to 1 mile "further up the Ohio River and the bed is nearly filled up." Another road record establishes Buena Vista Free Turnpike in 1837 that appears to follow the alignment of the stone road from Alexandria.The road location changed several times to try to avoid the flooding from the Ohio River. Research was conducted in the Portsmouth Public Library, Ohio Department of Transportation District 9 Office in Chillicothe, and Scioto County Courthouse (Auditor, Engineer, Court of Common Pleas as well as Commissioners' Journal). A copy of the research findings will be posted on the Shawnee Recreation Trail Inc. Newsletter (www.shawneerecreationtrail.org)

The report found no evidence of abandonment of the County Road. Evidence indicates that the County right of way for the Old River Road remains intact. Mrs. Kimberlin suggests several steps at this point:

1. A location survey should be performed by a Registered Surveyor using technology to facilitate the information being superimposed on the county GIS mapping.

2. Each known documented alignment should be placed on the mapping to see what fits.

3. The western end of the road alignment (near the Second Street Bridge) is not clear. In the past the road crossed the Scioto River to Popcorn Point, but those structures no longer exist. Contact needs to be made with Mr. Coleman, the current landowner, to seek cooperation on the proposed trail.

Mrs. Kimberlin outlined four additional steps in order to prepare to submit an application for construction funding. The SRT Planning Committee will first proceed by contacting Mr. Coleman.

Note: We thank Mrs. Kimberlin for her work on this project. In addition to completing this study she conducted many hours of research on her own time. She remains interested in this project reminding us that the project was ranked 2nd out of 50 submitted last year. She thinks that once preliminary work is done, the application has an excellent chance of being funded.

Submitted by Barb Bradbury, Secretary, Shawnee Recreation Trail, Inc. 2/14/08

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