Council OKs designating John Muir scenic byway

Aug. 3—LENOIR — City council has voted to name a scenic byway after John Muir, the "father of National Parks," taking a step toward final approval by the N.C. Board of Transportation.

During the Lenoir City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 2, Clay McCreary addressed the council regarding a proposed resolution in support of naming a scenic byway as "John Muir Parkway in Lenoir and Caldwell County."

John Muir was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, and an early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the U.S.

"The reason Mr. Muir is considered the father of the National Parks is because he was very instrumental with Yosemite National Park coming into existence," said McCreary. "As a matter of fact, it was due to a camping trip with President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 that the Yosemite Valley as we know it became part of Yosemite National Park. He was also very instrumental in the Grand Canyon becoming a National Park and Mount Rainier in Washington state."

In 1898, Muir also traveled across the entire Eastern Seaboard, from Canada and Maine all the way down to North Carolina and even Florida.

"The drive from Roan Mountain to Lenoir is I think the finest in America of its kind," Muir wrote in his personal journal during his tour.

North Carolina currently has 62 scenic byways that allow motorists to experience a taste of the state's geography, history, and breath-taking scenery, while also raising awareness for the protection and preservation of these areas. These scenic byways are chosen by the N.C Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and are ultimately approved by the N.C. Board of Transportation.

Lenoir City Council members were asked to approve the local resolution in order to move forward and receive final approval at the state level.

"An important step in this process is local support," McCreary explained. "A local resolution of support would go a long way to encouraging the state to approve this with the North Carolina Board of Transportation."

North Carolina scenic byways are funded and maintained entirely by NCDOT, so local towns and counties will not see any costs. Moreover, North Carolina scenic byway designations do not change any current roadway names nor do they prohibit any local designations that are made honoring a local individual with a highway.

"I think this presents a unique opportunity for this area," said McCreary. "State scenic byway names range from descriptions of the route to historical references and tours ... Really what I'm hoping to do with this John Muir parkway is much the same thing: it will follow John Muir's travels here through our area, from Roan Mountain to Lenoir, and use that to highlight some of our local history."

The proposed "John Muir Parkway" would use Muir's title as the father of National Parks and his well-known status as the famous outdoorsman to encourage interest in traveling the roadway and visiting local communities along the way. The parkway's route follows North Main Street from downtown Lenoir, leads north on U.S. Highway 321 in Watauga County, heads south on U.S. 221 in Blowing Rock, then follows N.C. 181 N and N.C. 194 N through Linville and Newland to U.S. 19E N and ends at the Tennessee state line.

"We talk about it all the time: 'what can we do to get more people to downtown Lenoir?' I think this is just another way that we could plug into that," said McCreary. "You could either start it or end it right at the square in downtown Lenoir ... Another thing that we talk about here in Lenoir is we've always considered ourselves, and we are, the gateway to the mountains. Let's allow people to begin or end their trip to the mountains right here in downtown Lenoir."

City council voted unanimously to approve the resolution to name a scenic byway "John Muir Parkway in Lenoir and Caldwell County" as presented.

"I see this as just like what we've done with the Overmountain Victory Trail and many other things that we're trying to do here," said Mayor Joe Gibbons. "We have the Civil War Trails here, and we have several other things that come through here, and I think it just adds to bringing people to our community. The highway between here and Blowing Rock probably should have been a scenic highway years ago."

In other news, city council voted unanimously to award a low bid to Camp Electric Company, Inc., in the amount of $213,522 for the Sports Lighting Project for Mack Cook Stadium. This project is part of the improvements at the Campus at Historic Lenoir High School.

"It's been a long time coming," said Kenny Story, Lenoir Parks and Recreation director. "I think this is going to be a great project for the city and for the community. I went to Lenoir High School and I hated seeing the lights coming down there, so to get those back up would be a blessing for me and I think the whole city. I think it would help us do a lot of things on that end of town with that being lit down there ... Camp Electric has done most of our lighting throughout the whole city and our Parks and Recreation facility, so they do a great job."

Additionally, city leaders unanimously approved an offer submitted by Michael Corpening to purchase six vacant lots owned by the city of Lenoir for $2,000.

According to City Manager Scott Hildebran, Corpening owns adjacent properties and plans to construct three homes on the acquired lots.

"These lots have been vacant for several years," said Councilman Ike Perkins. "Particularly there on Wheeler Street where you come off of Willow and turn left on Wheeler, you can see all those empty lots, which will greatly improve the entrance to Lenoir. I can't think of a better person that would make better use of this property than Mr. Corpening."