A Trail with a Mission: Connect Great Communities
Rutherfordton Leaders Reflect on the Thermal Belt Rail Trail
By Carolyn Baughman
Walk into the town of Rutherfordton’s Town Hall, and there is an immediate sense of place and hometown pride. The wide lobby features historical photographs and memorabilia of the town’s rich history. A picturesque Rutherfordton-branded mural is next to greet you, alongside a warm welcome from Rutherfordton Mayor Jim Dancy and Town Manager Doug Barrick.
Mayor Dancy has served as the Mayor of Rutherforton for the last 14 years. Of his city council, Mayor Dancy reflects, “It’s a great atmosphere because we have the people to make this town successful.” Doug Barrick has served as Rutherfordton’s Town Manager for the last 10 years, sharing, “I love our community, and I love the passion our community has to be in community.”
We sit down to discuss all things rail trails, and glean insights into how this community brought the Thermal Belt Rail Trail to life—insights that may help inform the vision and process for the proposed 31-mile Saluda Grade Trail just a dozen miles away.
The Thermal Belt Rail Trail
The 13.5-mile long Thermal Belt Rail Trail begins in the township of Gilkey, NC at its northernmost point and travels southeast through some of the most picturesque areas of Rutherford County. From there, the rail trail bridges the towns of Ruth, Rutherfordton, Spindale, and Forest City.
The first five miles of its northernmost section are more rural with long stretches between intersections and are great for biking and hot weather walking or running. Miles 5 through 13.5 are more urban, passing by towns, farmers markets, restaurants, and businesses. Along the path you may also encounter a bike repair station, picnic shelters, a splash pad, hydration station, public library, playground, and a dog park.
The Thermal Belt Rail Trail represents the first 13 miles of what could become over 100 miles of trail in the future, extending all the way up to Marion and beyond. Plans are currently underway to extend the trail 6.5 more miles to the town of Ellenboro.
The Development of the Thermal Belt Rail Trail
The motto of the Thermal Belt Rail Trail is “connecting great communities,” and this motto couldn’t ring more true.
As we look back at the development of the trail, Town Manager Doug Barrick shared that the town of Forest City really “led the charge” alongside Rutherfordton to purchase the existing rail corridor from its owner, the Rutherford Railway Development Corridor (RRDC). Once this occurred, “the rest of the communities got on board,” noted Mr. Barrick.
This became one of the pivotal moments for the trail, as the neighboring communities of Rutherford County each became known as “trail partners.” All five trail partners now hold the lease rights for each town’s section of trail through the RRDC. Mr. Barrick shared that the “RRDC has really gone out of their way to make sure all of the trail partners have a say.”
He also noted that one of the great byproducts of these communities working together is that they understand each other’s needs, successes, and community spirit even more. “Now we’re really innovating together,” reflected Mr. Barrick adding, “The single most important thing that the rail trail has done is connect great communities.”
Building the Trail
One of the first major steps towards the railway becoming a public-use trail occurred when Rutherford Hospital’s Legacy Foundation paved the first gravel section of the railway corridor along Whiteside Road. Doug Barrick noted that the 6-foot-wide section of pavement “was the single most important thing that we could have done.” He continued, “It was a visible section, and it immediately drew more users to the trail. It also allowed one of our non-profits, Rutherford Outdoor Coalition, to start publicizing it. This really showed people that there was an opportunity to do something beyond the gravel bed for that corridor.”
Next, following a joint venture between Rutherford Hospital, Inc. and Duke LifePoint Healthcare in 2015, the RHI Legacy Foundation had the goal of identifying health and wellness needs in Rutherford County. Doctors, volunteers, and other supporters were invested in the idea of a Thermal Belt Rail Trail to help achieve that goal. Mr. Barrick shared their goal was “to see the rail trail go from 6 feet wide to 12 feet wide and connect these communities.”
Next, the rail partners created a brief master plan of the trail, and then went straight into engineering and cost estimating. The RHI Legacy Foundation would then go on to fund 99.4% of the cost of the trail.
Mr. Barrick noted, “without their support, we would have never gotten the trail off the ground as fast as we did.” The RHI Legacy Foundation’s stipulation was that they would fund the lion’s share of the trail, as long as the communities worked together in the process. “It was a caveat to that blank check, but beyond the money, that was the best decision that that board did.”
Mayor Dancy added, “Our communities are only separated by the width of a sign, but this trail actually put something physically in our county where we are working together.” Mayor Dancy continued with, “It is so much easier for governments to realize that ‘working together’ atmosphere when you have something physical to accomplish for everybody. When we talk about connectivity, we have something in our hands that we can see and feel.”
Change is Hard
With anything new, there will be questions and community members who just aren’t sure. Mayor Dancy and Doug Barrick certainly experienced this as the Thermal Belt Rail Trail was proposed, planned, and voted on. Mr. Barrick noted, “Change is hard and when we talk about trails there is sometimes fear. I go back to the paving and showing that first section [of trail.]”
Mr. Barrick’s advice is to help community members feel connected, educated, and informed on what could be. He advises working with property owners to help create options for fencing, etc.
People sometimes are fearful that there will be crimes, but Mr. Barrick noted “I don’t know of any incidents where because of the trail, it allowed crime to perpetuate.”
Mayor Dancy added, “I encourage questioning because that’s how you find things out. I have found that there comes a time when you need to step out and go in faith. So many projects have come from that one project.”
Ripple Effects
Rutherford County’s motto is “small town friendly” and it’s stayed true to that motto through the growth of the Thermal Belt Rail Trail. Along the trail, communities have seen growth in new residential units, new businesses inhabiting existing buildings, a new park, a Forest City Farmer’s Market pavilion, plus a new pump track.
Mayor Dancy and Doug Barrick both noted how convenient it was during the Covid pandemic for people to have a way and get outside and walk. Additionally, health and wellness opportunities like “Walk with a Doc” have become popular. For the local running club, the trail has become prime training ground for their next half marathon. Mr. Barrick added, “there’s even a local dentist office that has a group who walk on the Purple Martin every day during their lunch hour.” (The Purple Martin Greenway is an adjacent 2 mile paved natural trail system that runs through the town of Rutherfordton, with future plans to connect to the Thermal Belt Rail Trail.)
Looking at the public use stats of the Thermal Belt Rail Trail, “Over half of the people who use the trail are bike riders,” notes Doug Barrick. The highest usage windows for the trail are weekends, lunchtime hours, and evenings.
Challenges
Planning, building, and maintaining a public use trail (that never closes) certainly comes with a few hurdles. Every detail has to be navigated, from funding and master planning to logistics, signage, and most importantly safety for each and every trail participant.
For example, says Mr. Barrick, “We’ve had to help people understand that this is a rail corridor and we are stewards of that space. We have to manage the crossings as if it is still a railbanked corridor.”
Additionally, the county does not patrol the trail, so they are continuing to educate the public about the national “leave no trace” principles.
Looking Back…and Ahead
As Mayor Dancy reflects on the impact of the Thermal Belt Rail Trail for the town of Rutherfordton, he notes, “ As mayor, council member, and a citizen, there’s joy that you receive when you’re working on a project, and cut the ribbon. But my greatest joy as a citizen is to go down to the park and play with my grandson, and see families on the Purple Martin Greenway, enjoying just being together.”
“It’s a total win-win for our community, citizens, and businesses,” reflects Mr. Barrick.
Just thirty minutes southwest of Rutherfordton, a similar corridor is being proposed along the historic Saluda Grade Railway. This corridor has the opportunity to become a similar rails-to-trails line called the Saluda Grade Trail, a 31-mile mixed-use corridor connecting communities from Inman, SC to Zirconia, NC.
This is the third in a series of articles about the local people whose lives are intertwined with the past, present, and possible future of the Saluda Grade Trail.
For more information about the Saluda Grade Trail, visit saludagradetrail.org.