Friends of the Struble Trail
People helping together to support the Struble Trail and its environment
Friends of the Struble Trail
Friends of the Struble Trail was formed to nurture your experience on the Struble Trail for all users, especially bikers, runners, walkers, and people using the trail for access to the great fishing on the East branch of the Brandywine Creek. Every day, hundreds of people use the trail to add a bit of nature to their lives.
A local developer bought the Shryock Paper Mill in 2005. This developer has requested an increase in sewage capacity from the 1,000 gallons per day that came with the property to 20,000 gallons per day - - - roughly from 4 to a requested 80 dwellings' worth of effluent. The new owner has fenced off the northern Struble Trail trailhead & parking, as well as the maintenance access road off Dorlan Mill Road used by the Marsh Creek State Park employees for over 30 years to service the dam. In response, over 2,000 people have given their support to the petition to preserve this key property between the Struble Trail and Marsh Creek State Park from development.
NEW - see Paper Mill Property Map
Friends of the Struble Trail was formed to nurture your experience on the Struble Trail for all users, especially bikers, runners, walkers, and people using the trail for access to the great fishing on the East branch of the Brandywine Creek. Every day, hundreds of people use the trail to add a bit of nature to their lives.
A local developer bought the Shryock Paper Mill in 2005. This developer has requested an increase in sewage capacity from the 1,000 gallons per day that came with the property to 20,000 gallons per day - - - roughly from 4 to a requested 80 dwellings' worth of effluent. The new owner has fenced off the northern Struble Trail trailhead & parking, as well as the maintenance access road off Dorlan Mill Road used by the Marsh Creek State Park employees for over 30 years to service the dam. In response, over 2,000 people have given their support to the petition to preserve this key property between the Struble Trail and Marsh Creek State Park from development.
NEW - see Paper Mill Property Map
200,000+ visits to this website since its creation on August 13, 2007! (That's enough for every household in West Chester, Coatesville, Downingtown AND Exton to view the site - more than SEVEN times each!)
March, 2010 Update
The Shryock Brothers sold much of the acreage around the old mill site to Chester County and Marsh Creek State Park, with a legally identified easement preserving the path from Dorlan Mill Road northward to
the Marsh Creek bridge. The opening of the trail easement area,
above and behind the paper mill buildings, for public use
takes effect once the Chester County Parks &
Recreation legally opens the trail approach.
CCP&R is working with PennDot to create a safe crossing area
for Dorlan Mill Road and secure all approvals for the road
crossing and trailhead entrance.
Check back for updates.
October, 2009 Update
Ownership of the park portion of the Shryock mill property has been transferred from Natural Lands Trust to Chester County and Marsh Creek State Park! Read the Daily Local News article for more information.
...and this OpEd from the Daily Local:
Bipartisan Efforts of Many Lead to Land Preservation
July 30, 2008
The Chain Link Fences Have Been Removed
The Chain Link Fences Have Been Removed
Dam Access Road Northern Trailhead
Update July 28, 2008:
Governor Rendell Approves Grant
for Shryock Land;
Upper Uwchlan Township Approves
Subdivision of Property
See Big Boost for Shryock Site Buy
Daily Local News, 7/27/08
Next Goal:
Encourage Upper Uwchlan and Uwchlan
Townships to approve final gap funding ($125,000 total)
See Who Can I Write?
Early July Update:
After great perseverance during difficult negotiations, Natural Lands Trust has reached an Agreement of Sale with the Shryock owners!
From the Natural Lands Trust's Press Release:
Media, PA, June 19, 2008 – Natural Lands Trust, the region’s largest land conservation organization, announced today that it has reached an agreement to purchase 28.5 acres of land owned by Shryock Brothers, Inc. in Upper Uwchlan and Uwchlan Townships, Chester County. The land will eventually be owned by the County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
When the purchase is completed, the Struble Trail will re-open. A parking area and access from the trail to nearby Marsh Creek State Park will be re-established, as well. ... The land to be preserved includes 18 acres of native deciduous forest and a half-mile section of the Brandywine Creek that is popular for canoeing and trout fishing. Under the terms of the agreement, the landowner will grant a trail easement across a five-acre parcel which they would retain. The easement will allow the Struble Trail to cross their property and be expanded to the northwest. ... The purchase agreement, signed Monday, is contingent upon approval of a subdivision of the five acre parcel and upon securing the needed funds from county, state and township sources.
When the purchase is completed, the Struble Trail will re-open. A parking area and access from the trail to nearby Marsh Creek State Park will be re-established, as well. ... The land to be preserved includes 18 acres of native deciduous forest and a half-mile section of the Brandywine Creek that is popular for canoeing and trout fishing. Under the terms of the agreement, the landowner will grant a trail easement across a five-acre parcel which they would retain. The easement will allow the Struble Trail to cross their property and be expanded to the northwest. ... The purchase agreement, signed Monday, is contingent upon approval of a subdivision of the five acre parcel and upon securing the needed funds from county, state and township sources.
See Map of Proposed Subdivision
of Property Here
If you would like to receive updates (usually about once a month - no spam, and your email Will Not Be Shared), please Sign Our Petition and we will be happy to keep you informed!
Want to voice your opinion on these ongoing negotiations? See our Who Can I Write? page. We also publish the Letters people send Friends of the Struble Trail on our site. Send us a note about what the trail means to you at Mail@FriendsOfTheStrubleTrail.org.
Want to voice your opinion on these ongoing negotiations? See our Who Can I Write? page. We also publish the Letters people send Friends of the Struble Trail on our site. Send us a note about what the trail means to you at Mail@FriendsOfTheStrubleTrail.org.
See Chester County Parks Department's page on plans for the Struble Trail
at their Struble Trail Northern Access Update Page.
(Due to unknown circumstances, we lost our home page and had to rebuild it. Email us at
mail@FriendsOfTheStrubleTrail
if you would like the newspaper article links that were previously posted.)
at their Struble Trail Northern Access Update Page.
(Due to unknown circumstances, we lost our home page and had to rebuild it. Email us at
mail@FriendsOfTheStrubleTrail
if you would like the newspaper article links that were previously posted.)