Advocates anticipate growth in Windsor, Missouri, with development of Rock Island Trail | KBIA

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Kim Henderson tidies up four modest log cabins tucked a few blocks behind Main Street in this small town 90 minutes southeast of Kansas City.

“I’ve told people so many times — and I still mean it — I did the cabins more for Windsor than I did for myself,” Henderson said.

Windsor, with a population of about 2,900, is where the Katy Trail and the 47 miles of existing Rock Island Trail meet. Both are two former railroad corridors. One is now a world-famous outdoor recreation attraction. The other is only one-fourth completed. . . .

The existing Rock Island Trail meets a paved road behind the Windsor City Park and stops. Across the road is a former railroad corridor so overgrown with brush and weeds you can barely see past the first dozen feet.
Intersection
Maggie Lenox
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Columbia Missourian
The Rock Island Spur connects the trails in Windsor, Mo. Gov. Mike Parson had planned to convert 78 more miles of railroad into trail to extent the Rock Island Trail.

Henderson is passionate that the trail is the next chapter for Rock Island towns. Trains haven’t come through for 40 years, and without access to the interstate, reusing the corridor in this way is Windsor’s best bet.

“We’re not going to have big industry again, so small towns have to think outside the box,” Henderson said.

Henderson and other trail advocates are adamant that a trail improves quality of life not only for travelers but also for residents of the small towns they bisect. Henderson can attest to the demand for lodging and thinks the intersecting trail would attract more amenities to Windsor.

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Advocates anticipate growth in Windsor, Missouri, with development of Rock Island Trail | KBIA