Back in December, Commissioner Fran King mentioned, she has info on a grant program for rehabing old barns. During the Jan 2021 meeting of the CCC, the mention came of an old stone based barn located on ERTS. Comments came, what a great chance for a cool resting spot for hikers, bikers, and horseback riders. We agree!

  Thursday afternoon, Jan 14th, we hitched up the old two wheeler and made the journey to Ivydale for a look see. We've traveled the trail many times since opening and frankly, never even noticed a barn of any sorts on ERTS.

   At about the 48.2 mile marker, on the hill side of the trail, low and behold..... Poof! There it is. We looked around the place and: sure looks like the structure is completely land locked and since it's right beside the trail, it might already be located on the BC&G RR rights of way.
  Minus a  measuring tape, it appears to be around 35 feet long and 18 feet wide. Two stories tall too.
   The stone foundation looks to be in good shape without any noticeable cracks in the foundation. Part of the tin roof has blown away. The windows are all busted out and the basement door is long gone. The upstairs wood walls are not bowed out.

   There needs to be amenities added to ERTS to enhance its appeal. There are already plans on the table to add picnic spots, camping areas, porta potties and covered benches along the trail.
   IF all fixed up with a new roof and a couple picnic table, this would make a great half way spot on the Upper section of ERTS.
  Commissioner King is asking for help with the grant writing and foot work to determine ownership of the barn. How about you?
  It would be a shame to let this addition to the fun trail to go to waste. It's a great opportunity, an enhancement to the already in place stone tunnel at mile stick 55 and the beautiful waterfall near mile marker 54.

AW