This has been a long, trying year. Just as spring was on the horizon and we were ready to open with a very full schedule of events, Covid hit and the county health department shut down everything. The lockdown was lifted as summer approached but to be safe for everyone, our major festival in June was canceled along with all of our programs. Staff were still quite busy with construction projects. As this year draws to a close we’ll highlight some of the projects each day. WILLOW BRANCH TRAIL
A three-year Recreational Trails project, partially funded by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources was completed at the end of June. It added nearly a mile of walking trails to our system and gave us much needed bathrooms.
Staff, volunteers and a great group of boys from the Rich Hill Youth Development Center cleared brush to make a 7 foot wide natural turf trail that wove around Willow Branch creek.
Poison ivy, ticks, snakes, snow, floods and hot summer days accompanied the workers who also planted trees and water plants along the trail and at the ford.
- courtesy Poplar Heights Living History Farm
