Treloar to Marthasville - Treloar, MO
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member YoSam.
N 38° 38.604 W 091° 11.276
15S E 657700 N 4278763
These Katy trail markers are at each major trailhead and point to the next in each direction.
Waymark Code: WMRBE7
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 06/04/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member MountainWoods
Views: 2
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County of marker: Warren County
Location of marker: Katy Trail State Park, mile marker 84.7, Treloar
Marker erected by Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Marker erected: 2012

Marker text:
The distance along Katy Trail State Park from Treloar to Marthasville is seven miles. Peers, about halfway to Marthasville, has services for trail users. Founded in 1893 when the railroad arrived, it was named for MKT attorney Charles Peers. Note the gap between the trail and building fronts at Peers. In Katy Railroad days, a small depot stood there.

Views from the trail toward the Missouri River take in bottomland corn and soybean fields and the Ozark border region beyond. On the opposite side of the trail, you move through a landscape of tall dolomite bluffs, hilly pastures and fine old homes.

The trail crosses and runs alongside Charrette Creek between mileposts 79 and 80. The creek is named for La Charrette, a small French settlement established around 1796 south of here. Lewis and Clark stopped at La Charrette on May 25, 1804, noting "7 houses and as many families." The settlement was later washed away by the Missouri River.

After the Highway 47 underpass at milepost 78.1, look left (north) to see an old caboose. The old Marthasville depot is next to the grain elevators near the Marthasville trailhead.

[Please see detail photos for more text on the details of this trip.]

History of Mark:
The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT)
Begun in the 1870s, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, also known as the Katy, ran through much of the Missouri River valley by the 1890s. With the Pacific Railroad running from St. St. Louis to Jefferson City by 1856 and the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad becoming the first cross-state railroad in 1859, the Katy was a relative late comer to the railroad game. However, it provided a vital link between the agriculture of central Missouri and the quickly developing American southwest. The Katy added to Missouri's prosperity, supporting towns along the corridor and causing several new towns, such Mokane and Tebbetts, to spring up almost overnight.

The Katy Ceases Operation
In the fall of 1986, the Katy experienced severe flooding that washed out several miles of track. Due to the cost of repair, the fact that railroad use was in decline, and the company was in financial trouble, the company decided to cease operations. On Oct. 4, 1986, trains 101 and 102 became the very last trains to use the corridor and the Katy ceased operations on its route from Sedalia to Machens.

The Railroad Amendment
The National Trails System Act Amendments of 1983 provided that railroad corridors no longer needed for active rail service can be banked for future transportation needs and used on an interim basis for recreational trails. When the Katy Railroad ceased operations, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources filed for a certificate of interim trail use for the corridor from Sedalia to Machens and it was granted in April 1987. The department used the opportunity to develop one of the most successful rails-to-trails conversions in the United States.

The Development of Katy Trail State Park
The first section of the trail from Rocheport to McBaine opened in April on 1990. In August of 1990, another section from Augusta to jut northeast of Defiance opened. The rail corridor from St. Charles to just past Sedalia was developed by 1996. Through a donation from the Union Pacific Railroad, the department then extended the trail to Clinton, opening the section between Sedalia and Clinton in September of 1999. Funds from the Missouri Department of Transportation will be used for construction of the final section of Katy Trail from St. Charles to Machens. Future plans include the Rock Island Trail-Katy Connector, which will connect the trails at Windsor to Pleasant Hill.



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