October 10, 1992
The first segment of the Montour Trail in the Pittsburgh region was formally opened in Cecil Township. The dedication ceremony for this 4.4-mile (7.1-kilometer) section of the multi-use recreational trail was specifically held at Cecil Park.
Those taking part in this ceremony included Robert A. Hall, supervisory community planner for the Federal Highway Administration’s Pennsylvania Division. He took time during the dedication to speak to attendees about funding for pedestrian and bicycle trails that was available via the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), which had been signed into law by President George H.W. Bush the previous year.
The Montour Trail owes its name and terrain to a longtime railroad in that area of southwestern Pennsylvania. The Montour Railroad, which provided services for both passengers and freight, operated in that region between 1877 and 1984. This railroad was named for Montour Run, a local creek. That stream of water, in turn, had been named after a family of Native American and French descent that was prominent in the Pennsylvania backcountry during much of the 18th century.
Five years after the Montour Railroad ceased operations, a group was formed to ultimately transform the roadbed for this line into a trail for activities such as bicycling, walking, and jogging. To help develop the first portion of this route, the members of the Montour Trail Council held a meeting at the Cecil Township Fire Hall in January 1992 to enlist people to help with this effort. “100 Volunteers to Help Build Montour Drive,” announced the headline for a subsequent Pittsburgh Press article detailing the result of that recruitment drive.
This article, which was written by Patti Murphy, included a quote from Montour Trail Council president Stan Sattinger. “We want to have as many volunteers on the project as we can . . . with the hope that they’ll come out not just once or twice, but lots of times,” said Sattinger. “In addition to the dirty-hands tasks, we’re going to have people tasks.”
Murphy then highlighted what the roles in the latter category would involve. “Phone chain workers, for example, are needed to organize trail work crews,” she explained. “Landowner contact people will compile a list of property owners along the trail from tax records, then call, write or visit them to discuss the project.” Murphy further reported, “Also needed are drafters to develop site plans, carpenters to assemble bridge rails and decks, engineers to survey the property and mark boundaries, construction site managers, and people to run equipment such as backhoes, front loaders and pothole diggers.”
In the years since its first section was completed, the Montour Trail has been extended considerably to cover approximately 60 miles (96.6 kilometers) altogether between the borough of Coraopolis and the city of Clairton. This route is now a key link in the Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile (240-kilometer) rail trail between Pittsburgh and the city of Cumberland, Maryland.
Photo Credit: Chris Winters (https://www.flickr.com/people/62037332@N00) – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0 Generic license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
For more information on the Montour Trail, please check out https://montourtrail.org/about-us-2/
Transportation History 
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