KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Plans are underway to connect a Civil War-era commercial port on the Missouri River and a Kansas City park where Lewis and Clark once camped.
The Northeast Kansas City, Kansas, Heritage Trail came to life when the Groundwork Northeast Revitalization Group partnered with the Unified Government to apply for a grant from the Mid-America Regional Council.
They were awarded $108,000, supplemented by a $30,000 match from the UG.
The south end of the trail will be Kaw Point Park, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers.
The north end will be the Quindaro Townsite. It was home to a unique community of settlers, abolitionists, Wyandot Indians and freed slaves, who escaped across the river to Kansas to what became a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Early designs include a loop through the heart of the neighborhood, a river trail and an outer loop using the right-of-ways for vacated rail lines. But the plans are preliminary.
Several community meetings already have been held, and the community will get the chance to weigh in again in the coming weeks.
