Ammerman Trail
Before the Grampian Industrial Rail Road the trail was part of the Great Shamokin Path used as a major trading center known as "Chinklacamoose" named by the Native America Indians. The concept for the RR was to connect Erie with Philadelphia to compete with the Harbor in NYC. A 56 mile route was mapped out which included our 10.5 mile rail trail. The route started in Tyrone with Ph
ilipsbur, Clearfield, Curwensville, Grampian, DuBois and Brockway as potential towns along the RR Route. In 1859 the Tyrone to Clearfield RR was officially formed. The first train arrived on the Grampian RR in Clearfield on January 11th 1869. On Christmas Day in 1874 the first train pulled into the newly constructed train station in Curwensville (which is now known as the Feed Store). On 1890 the first train pulled into the newly constructed station in Grampian which is located near our current parking area on this end of the trail. The Grampian RR was used until March 16th, 1988 to transport tons of coal, timber, clay and quarried stone and a small passenger line. Our Trail was previously named the Clearfield to Grampian Trail which has been re-named in honor of our founder David S. Ammerman "The David S. Ammerman Trail". The idea of our trail started in 1990 when David S. Ammerman was browsing both The Smithsonian and National Geographic magazines where coincidentally had articles about converting abandoned rail trails into recreational multi-use trails. From there, Mr. Ammerman was determined and dedicated to this project to turn our abandoned rail road into a trail for the community of Clearfield. In 1991 the Clearfield County Rails to Trails Association (CCRTA) was formed as a non-profit organization with members who were passionate about the project and it's positive effect on the community. In July 1992, the CCRTA purchased 10.5 miles of the abandoned line for $10,000. The CCRTA applied for Enhancement Grants through the Department of Transportation to fund the trail. There were special grants available for turning abandoned RR's into rail trails. In 1994 the CCRTA was awarded $248,000 in grant dollars to restore the rail line into a rail trail. The overall was estimated to cost around $325,000. The trail design was originally broken up into nine segments. The first five segments (5.3 miles from Clearfield to the Curwensville St. Timothy Catholic Church) were completed in 1996. The remaining 4 segments from the Church to Grampian (5.2 miles) were completed in 1998. Today our trail is used my many local people in Clearfield County. We have many people from all over the world come to use and see the beauty of our trail. If you are interested in hiking, jogging, biking, fishing, birding, cross-county or just taking a lovely walk in the woods our trail is for you! The surface of our trail is made of packed crushed limestone. Expect a smooth mostly flat ride with a gradually incline when nearing the Grampian end. Our trail is a family friendly non-motorized used trail through beautiful wooded areas, farmlands and small towns. You will travel past the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, Anderson Creek and Kratzer Run. Wildlife is a guarantee on our trail. It is truly an outdoors lovers paradise. CCRTA currently has 15 active Board of Directors; 5 of our original members remain on our board today! The Association is an all volunteer program. Board members are not paid for their services. Our Trail is fully funded by grants and the Association is fully funded by donations from the community. We have never done a public fundraiser to maintain the trail. Current Board of Directors:
President - Fred Ammerman
Vice- President - Robert J. Bozovich
Treasurer - Brian W. Wingard
Secretary - Jilynn Hess
Solicitor - Peter Smith
William Shaw
Jerry Stewart
Pat Malloy
Bruce George
Richard Butler
Joseph Geppert
Bud Swales
Joseph P. Kelly Jr. Todd F. Grady
Dave Lezzer
