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Morganton offers locations for Overmountain Trail headquarters

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By Julie N. Chang | The News Herald

Published: November 19, 2009

MORGANTON - The National Park Service doesn't expect to name a site for the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail's headquarters and visitor's center until 2011, but the process to select a location is already under way.

At an informal public meeting Wednesday night at the Historic Burke County Courthouse, Trail Superintendent Paul Carson said the primary goal is to provide an fully functional administrative center.

Currently, Carson works in a small office at the southernmost end of the trail.

As the trail continues to grow (the certified trail is currently about 75 miles long), so do the number of special events, Carson said.

"Frankly, we need a staff to do those things," he said.

The visitor's center is a secondary concern to the administrative needs, Carson said. The National Park Service is seeking a location that would primarily offer offices with a few exhibits and a reception area.

The meeting in Morganton was one of four scheduled to solicit public input. The National Park Service will analyze and assess the impacts of the operations in those areas.

The other three cities under consideration are Marion, Elizabethton, Tenn., and Gaffney, S.C.

Carson said the study is open to any type of comment from the public, whether it is an idea of what to include at the headquarters or to offer support for a specific location. The public has until Dec. 18 to submit comments.

Burke County Commissioner Steven Smith said the county is offering a 4.5-acre parcel of land near the entrance of Lake James State Park that is part of the Overmountain Trail.

The City of Morganton has proposed another four locations that also are part of the trail. The sites are Catawba Meadows Park on Sanford Drive, Overmountain Vista (the intersection of Sanford Drive and N.C. 18/U.S. 64), the Rocky Ford Access to the Catawba River Greenway and Bellevue Plantation on Bost Road.

Lee Anderson, City of Morganton director of development and design services, said the National Park Service is looking for a central location along the trail and Morganton fits that need perfectly.

"We are the center of (the Overmountain Victory Trail)," Anderson said.

If the National Park Service selects one of the Burke County locations, having the headquarters here could increase tourism to the area, Anderson said.

"We want to be accessible to the parts of the trail in other states, but also accessible to the public," he said.

Comments can be submitted to the National Park Service electronically at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/OVVI. The City of Morganton's proposal is available at http://www.ci.morganton.nc.us.