Three Heritage Trails to Promote Historic
Rural Attractions
February 23, 2007 - Seattle's rich collection of historic places and museums has long drawn visitors from around the globe. But visitors often miss equally compelling stories and sites in the city's suburbs and the rural areas of King County. Preservation 4Culture, in partnership with the King County Historic Preservation Program, have embarked on a new project to connect classic attractions such as Pioneer Square with equally intriguing places in Black Diamond, Snoqualmie, and Skykomish.
Working with local heritage and tourism organizations, Preservation 4Culture plans to produce full-color brochures and a website promoting three "virtual" heritage trails. These thematically linked tourist itineraries will help visitors and residents explore the connections among dozens of heritage sites, historic places, and community museums. The first trails will focus on the themes of industry, maritime, and agriculture. "Pike Place Market is a prime example of our agricultural heritage," says Julie Koler, King County Historic Preservation Officer. "An agriculture heritage trail will encourage people who enjoy the Market to head out and see historic farmsteads, some of them still in production, in the far reaches of the county."
Other partners in the heritage trails project include the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau's Cultural Tourism Program, the Association of King County Historical Organizations, and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. The heritage trails are part of a coordinated regional approach to marketing and promotion of heritage resources as an economic development strategy, especially in rural areas.
The partners will draw on the experience of other heritage trail projects, such as the Texas Lakes Trail, which links the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area with smaller communities in North Central Texas, and the Washington Heritage Trail, which promotes rural communities of West Virginia to residents and visitors in the Washington, DC and Baltimore region. Funded in part by the King County Lodging Tax, the heritage trails effort is projected for completion in late 2007.
For more information on the heritage trails project, contact Flo Lentz, Preservation 4Culture, 206.296.8682.
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