Visitors Center Opens

-- On the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway --

PALATKA – State and local officials officially opened the Visitors Center and trailhead on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway in Palatka on Saturday. Speakers included the Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways & Trails Director Jena Brooks, the City of Palatka’s Mayor, Karl Flagg, and Putnam County Commissioner Nancy Harris. 

"The Center will be an excellent resource for visitors to enjoy and learn about other sites in the area," said Brooks.

Located near Buckman Lock in Palatka, the Center recounts the history of the Cross Florida Barge Canal and its transformation into the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway with its many documents and photographs. The Center also provides visitors with information about present sites of interest and serves as the primary trailhead for equestrian, hiking and bicycling trails on the east end of the Cross Florida Greenway.

Activities included a tour of Buckman Lock, demonstrations by a blacksmith and a woodcarver, old fashioned games like checkers, hopscotch, pumpkin relay and jump rope – reflecting the theme: Florida’s History. Local schools used the occasion to raise funds by selling coffee, cold drinks, hot dogs, baked goods and barbecue.

The grand opening coincided with "October-Greenways and Trails Month," proclaimed last month by Governor Bush. This is the second trailhead to open this month (Trailhead 475-A in Bellview opened earlier in the month) and is one of more than 120 events scheduled throughout the state.