Blackwater Heritage State Trail shows what strong-willed people can do with a dream

It might be hard to imagine a whole town full of people getting worked up over an eight-and-some-odd mile slab of asphalt, but when that slab is Milton's Blackwater Heritage State Trail and it's ringing in its 25th birthday, well, that's cause for celebration.

The trail is, in a word, iconic.

Its construction was emblematic of what strong-willed people can do with a dream, its route provides yet another example of the cooperation between Santa Rosa County and the local military and its popularity speaks volumes about the concept behind its creation.

Gerard Greco, a park ranger dubbed trail "historian" said that interest in recreating at the Blackwater Heritage State Trail has boomed in recent years.

"It the last 15 years we've gone from around 50 to 60,000 annual visitors to over 100,000 and almost 150,000 annually," he said. "And we've had more visitors from out of state in the last five years than we've ever had."

Greco attributed a lot of the newfound popularity at the park to social media-assisted word of mouth.

A crowd of about 60, including a host of dignitaries, gathered Tuesday morning at the trail visitor's center to mark the quarter century anniversary of its Feb. 20, 1999 dedication as the Blackwater Heritage State Trail.

Among those attending were Commander Chris Otto, the newly minted executive officer at NAS Whiting Field; Florida Park Service Director Chuck Hatcher; and Kevin Mills, the vice president for policy of the federal Rails to Trails Conservancy.

Also in attendance was Richard Collins, a founding member of the trail's Citizen Support Organization and a driving force behind getting the trail built. In 1996, two years ahead of the original dedication ceremony, Collins was one of 11 people across the country honored as a National Conservation Hero for his work on the trail project.

"Ten years and 8,000 hours and look at what we got," Collins said with a hint of a smile Monday as he looked out over his brainchild. "It's the spirit of volunteerism we've got to recognize."

Mills told the audience that back in the 1989, when efforts first got underway in Milton to convert an old rail line to recreational use, "multi-use trails were a lot less common" than they are now.

"The movement here has sparked a movement in the state," he said.

Another dignitary appearing at Tuesday's event, Justin Baldwin of the state's Office of Greenways and Trails, said Milton's trail site consistently ranks in the top 10 of those being viewed on social media sites his organization monitors.

Marshall Shaw, the Blackwater Heritage State Trail park manager and host of Monday's event, said that bringing the rails to trails project to fruition was by no means a sure thing when Collins and others embarked upon it.

"It could have very easily not been a trail, but people really stood up and said they wanted it," he said. "We had a group that bonded together and pushed and pushed."

Long-time Milton resident Jerry Couey remembered there was a lot of community support behind converting the old railroad tracks to a useable trail. He said the idea made perfect sense, "the railroad was just sitting there" and the tracks were situated in a raised rail bed that would make conversion a relatively simple process.

It helped that the city of Milton, federal and state rails to trails officials and Santa Rosa County found a ready and willing community partner at Whiting Field.

The old Bagdad Mill site had closed its doors in 1939, and in 1943, the US Navy reconstructed the southernmost five-and-a-half miles of track mill operators had built and added another 4-mile spur at Roeville, according to both State Park and Whiting Field records. The Navy originally used the line as it was building and operating flight training facilities at what would eventually become Whiting Field.

In the 1970s, the Navy quit using the rail line and its ownership at some point passed to the Department of the Interior. In 1993, that agency transferred title to the state of Florida, making way for the rails to trails project to become reality.

Today, the Blackwater Heritage State Trail extends 8.1 miles and at its northernmost point joins the 1.5-mile Military Heritage Trail that ends at Whiting Field. Otto called the trail one more example of the cooperation that exists in Santa Rosa County and Florida between the military and local government.

"I know all of our hard work to protect our assets and protect the environment will continue," he said.

Also celebrated Tuesday was Milton's recent designation as a Florida trail town. It is one of just 19 trail towns in the state and the only one in Northwest Florida.

The importance of the designation, Baldwin said, is that it allows visitors to know that Milton is a city that welcomes those coming to the area to take advantage of its recreational amenities.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Blackwater Heritage State Trail in Milton Florida celebrates 25 years