Dutzow to Marthasville - Dutzow, MO
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member YoSam.
N 38° 36.169 W 090° 59.935
15S E 674249 N 4274601
One of the shortest distances between trailheads on the Katy Trail. Please see photo gallery for text with photos of that spread.
Waymark Code: WMTJVD
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 12/01/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member iconions
Views: 1
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County of marker: Warren County
Location of marker: MO-94, Katy Trail Trailhead, Dutzow
Marker erected: 2000
Marker erected by: Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Marker text:
One of the shortest distances between Katy Trail State Park trailheads is the 3.7 miles from Dutzow to Marthasville. Dutzow is located in a large gap in the line of Missouri River bluffs. The Katy Trail runs along the base of the bluffs, while to the left of the trail is a wide agricultural floodplain made up of former islands -- Boeuf, Miller, Watkins -- now mostly pieced together and filled in.

To visit the Daniel Boone Monument -- including Boone's former gravesite -- go right on Boone Monument Rd. at milepost 75.8 to Bluff Rd. Turn left (West) on Bluff Rd. and go about four-tenths of a mile. The Boone Monument is located on a hill to your right. Though open to the public, the Boone Monument is on private land, so please treat it with respect. From the monument, you can return to the Katy Trail by backtracking.

Offered Spanish land grants, the Boone family moved from Kentucky to what is now Missouri in 1799. Daniel Boone was buried here in 1820; his wife, Rebecca, had died in 1813. Their bodies were removed to Frankfort, KY., in 1845, though local folklore suggests Kentucky received the wrong bodies. Other Boone family members and slaves are buried at the Boone Monument.

Shortly before reaching Marthasville, at milepost 76.2, trail users cross Tuque Creek on a 190-foot-long through-truss bridge. The Tuque Creek bridge is one of eight that the katy Railroad rebuilt between New Franklin and Machens after giving up its Moberly-Hannibal line in 1923. From then on, the Katy depended entirely on this Missouri River route to St. Louis and Chicago.

Web link: [Web Link]

History of Mark:
The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT)
Begun in the 1870s, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, also known as the Katy, ran through much of the Missouri River valley by the 1890s. With the Pacific Railroad running from St. St. Louis to Jefferson City by 1856 and the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad becoming the first cross-state railroad in 1859, the Katy was a relative late comer to the railroad game. However, it provided a vital link between the agriculture of central Missouri and the quickly developing American southwest. The Katy added to Missouri's prosperity, supporting towns along the corridor and causing several new towns, such Mokane and Tebbetts, to spring up almost overnight.

The Katy Ceases Operation
In the fall of 1986, the Katy experienced severe flooding that washed out several miles of track. Due to the cost of repair, the fact that railroad use was in decline, and the company was in financial trouble, the company decided to cease operations. On Oct. 4, 1986, trains 101 and 102 became the very last trains to use the corridor and the Katy ceased operations on its route from Sedalia to Machens.

The Railroad Amendment
The National Trails System Act Amendments of 1983 provided that railroad corridors no longer needed for active rail service can be banked for future transportation needs and used on an interim basis for recreational trails. When the Katy Railroad ceased operations, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources filed for a certificate of interim trail use for the corridor from Sedalia to Machens and it was granted in April 1987. The department used the opportunity to develop one of the most successful rails-to-trails conversions in the United States.

The Development of Katy Trail State Park
The first section of the trail from Rocheport to McBaine opened in April on 1990. In August of 1990, another section from Augusta to jut northeast of Defiance opened. The rail corridor from St. Charles to just past Sedalia was developed by 1996. Through a donation from the Union Pacific Railroad, the department then extended the trail to Clinton, opening the section between Sedalia and Clinton in September of 1999. Funds from the Missouri Department of Transportation will be used for construction of the final section of Katy Trail from St. Charles to Machens. Future plans include the Rock Island Trail-Katy Connector, which will connect the trails at Windsor to Pleasant Hill



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kJfishman visited Dutzow to Marthasville - Dutzow, MO 12/02/2016 kJfishman visited it