Rick Gregg became a member of WVSTA when we purchased some land in Greenbrier County in 2003 for business purposes which is only 1 3/4 miles from the Laurel Creek Trailhead, (Junction of Sections 3 & 4). Prior to joining WVSTA I was woefully ignorant on how trails are maintained. And I mean WOEFULLY. I thought USFS or the USPS paid summer help to do it! It was an eye opener for me to realize the tremendous amount of work that volunteers and their fund-raising efforts contribute to the trail systems in America. Wonderful work and I’m proud to a small part of it!

Although WVSTA’s goal is caring for the Allegheny Trail, its sub-chapter Mary Ingles Trail Blazers as its main goal as memorializing the travails and courage of Mary Draper-Ingles. This brave, determined lady was captured by the Shawnee Indians in 1755. She was carried to their town in Chillicothe, Ohio, but ultimately escaped. She didn’t know the paths and trails to make it back home to Blacksburg, Virginia area but she knew to “follow the river”. If she did that, she would make it home. And she did. Her story about the ease of making salt in our beautiful Kanawha Valley piqued the interests o

My primary interest for Mary Ingles Trail Blazers is geared towards expanding and improving the Mary Ingles Memorial Trail sections here in Kanawha Co. The Marmet Locks and Dam project is ongoing and will hopefully be under construction by spring of 2026. It will be a mile long trail around the so-named Mount Holley Lawn on the Belle side of the river. (Mt. Holley Lawn is a man-made mound from the spoil material excavated for the locks expansion).

Ultimately, once the boardwalk and gravel trail is constructed, we hope to add historical signage to present the wonderful history of the Kanawha Valley. We have achieved funding from grants through the efforts of Secretary Eric Nelson, the Kanawha County Commission with help from former Delegate Larry Rowe. We have coordinated the legal agreements with the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, the WV Division of Highways and the Kanawha County Commission. It has been 4-years in the making. Hopefully, Mary Ingles will be pleased when this section of her memorial trail is completed.