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$14,000 in Grants for Arrow Rock Trail Interpretation

Updated at July 15, 2007 09:46

Mary Duncan, President of the Manitou Bluffs Mid-Missouri Chapter of the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, announced that the Chapter has received two grants totaling $14,000 for interpretation and upgrading of the Historic River Landing Trail in Arrow Rock. $4,000 is from a National Park Service Lewis & Clark National Historic Trails Challenge Cost Share Grant. This money will provide for erosion work on the trail as well as for two interpretive signs. A $10,000 grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Foundation will fund five additional signs and a brochure for the Arrow Rock Historic River Landing Trail.

The River Landing Trail can be accessed near the end of Main Street. It connects with the Lewis & Clark Discovery Trail on the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge and is approximately a one-half mile walk on a gravel path to the Missouri River. By the mid-19th century Arrow Rock was one of the busiest trade centers on the lower Missouri River. Evidence of this was the report that in 1858 Arrow Rock shipped 7,135 bales of hemp, equaling 1,427 tons, for a total value of $128,120. The interpretive signs will aid in understanding the vital role steamboat transportation played in Arrow Rock’s history. The Manitou Bluffs Chapter was also instrumental in securing grants to construct both trails. They worked closely with the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge and the Friends of the Big Muddy.

Arrow Rock, a National Historic Landmark village, is located 14 miles north of I-70 on Hwy 41. The Arrow Rock State Historic Site Visitor Center Museum is open daily 10-4 offering an orientation film and exhibits about the settlement of the Boonslick. The Friends of Arrow Rock offer walking tours on Saturdays in May and will begin a new tram tour Monday-Saturday beginning in June. Featured buildings are the home of artist George Caleb Bingham and gunsmith John P. Sites. The Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre opens its season June 8 with a production of “Into the Woods.” Numerous shops, restaurants, and B & Bs welcome guests. Arrow Rock was listed on one of the 100 Best Small Town Getaways in the June 2007 Issue of Midwest Living.

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