Town of Council member David Culpepper has donated brass plates, printed with the words “Bartram Trail GA/NC,” to mark the section of the Bartram Trail from Lazy Hiker Brewing Company to the Wallace Gap trailhead on Pressley Road.
“The brass markers are part of a Tourism Development Authority grant to support and promote the Bartram Trail through downtown Franklin,” said Brent Martin, executive director of the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy. “The markers are at different intervals on the sidewalk beginning at Big Bear shelter [on the Little Tennessee River Greenway] and continuing on through downtown to Baird Cove Road. We will also begin constructing a downtown kiosk for the Bartram Trail this month that will be located near Town Hall.”
Martin, author of “A Hiker’s Guide to the Bartram National Recreation Trail in Georgia and North Carolina,” includes in his book both an explanation of the route and a map showing the section of the 110-mile trail that is more urban. Martin’s books, as well as maps of the Bartram Trail and William Bartram’s classic, “Bartram’s Travels,” are available at the Conservancy office at Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center and online at https://blueridgebartram.org/.
