The Chief Ladiga Trail is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

that stretches for from Anniston to the Alabama-

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

state line. It is the state's first

project.

History

Trail background

The Chief Ladiga is on the same rail corridor as the

Silver Comet Trail The Silver Comet Trail is a rail trail in west-northwestern Georgia, United States. Route The Silver Comet Trail is named for the '' Silver Comet'' passenger train that traversed the same route from 1947 to 1969. It begins in Smyrna, Georgia, ...

in Georgia as far as

Piedmont, Alabama Piedmont is a city in Calhoun and Cherokee counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 4,400 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is approximately one and a h ...

. From there it parallels an abandoned Southern Railway line for a few miles west of town until it leaves the old Seaboard rail line, heading south on the Norfolk Southern Railway route until the trail ends just north of Anniston. In 2008, the Ladiga and Silver Comet trail were connected. A new gateway marks the connecting point at the state line. Now that the Chief Ladiga and the Silver Comet trails are connected, there is a paved corridor for non-motorized travel from just west of

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to Anniston, making it the 2nd longest paved trail in the U.S (the longest being the

Paul Bunyan State Trail The Paul Bunyan State Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail in north-central Minnesota, United States, running between the cities of Baxter/ Brainerd and Bemidji. It is named after the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan of American folklore. ...

in Minnesota).

Chief Ladiga

Chief Ladiga was a

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsTreaty of Cusseta The Treaty of Cusseta was a treaty between the government of the United States and the Creek Nation signed March 24, 1832 (). The treaty ceded all Creek claims east of the Mississippi River to the United States. Origins The Treaty of Cusseta, ...

in 1832. The Treaty was part of a broader policy of

indian removal Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...

perpetrated by the Jackson Administration. Ladiga sold half his land (which would later become Jacksonville) to speculators for $2000.

Route

The Chief Ladiga Trail starts at the Alabama-Georgia state line. At about mile marker 7.0, the trail crosses the Pinhoti National Recreation Trail. It travels west to Piedmont, the direction changes to southwest then on to

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and going through the

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree, master's, educati ...

campus. Then, the trail goes to Weaver and finally ending at Michael Tucker Park in north Anniston. It travels through wetlands, across streams, through forests and farmlands, and includes a horizon view of the Talladega Mountains. There are several bridges and both new and restored railroad trestles. There is proposal to extend the trail from Michael Tucker Park southward to 4th street in downtown Anniston. , the City of Anniston hired an engineering firm to inspect bridges and design the trail extension.

References

External links