Focus Term: History Happened Here
How May T. Watts Inspired the Illinois Prairie Path and U.S. Rail-Trail Movement
May Theilgaard Watts was a writer, illustrator, naturalist, scientist and teacher. Her determination that Americans stay connected to their natural landscape in a time of increasing urbanization was the catalyst that led to the formation of the Illinois Prairie Path,
30 Years: Birth and Evolution of the American Rail-Trail Movement
In 2016, RTC celebrated its 30th anniversary and the birth and evolution of the American Rail-Trail Movement.
10 Rail-Trails That Helped Build the Movement
In honor of RTC’s 30th anniversary, here are 10 game-changers of the rail-trail movement.
Three Women Who Changed the Course of History On Bicycles
Susan B. Anthony, famed suffragette leader and women’s rights reformer, once said of the bicycle, “I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”
History Happened Here: Sidepaths and the Persistent Dreams of Trail Building
Right now, in the middle of the 21st-century bike boom, the rail-trail movement is the most successful way to build trails for bikers and walkers. But it’s certainly not the first; many other plans for trail building have come and gone.
History Happened Here: How the Switchback Railroad Inspired the Invention of the Roller Coaster
The Switchback Gravity Railroad, built in 1827, was only the second railroad built in America. It relied on gravity, with mules.
