Capital Area Greenbelt - Historical Development

Historical Development

Historical significance

In the early 1900s, Mira Lloyd Dock had just returned from Europe with a new vision for how Harrisburg could be improved. To implement her vision, she hired landscape architect Warren Manning to develop the city's parks. Manning then recommended creating a ring boulevard encircling the city to connect its parks, which was the beginnings of what would become the Greenbelt. In the first two decades after the project was started, there was immense support and progress. However, by the 1920s, the project fell to the wayside. The plan was never fully realized, partly because of the migration of city residents to the suburbs, which devastated the city budget. Most of the parkway was gated and abandoned, causing it to fall into disuse and disrepair. Some sections of the current Greenbelt were not abandoned, but instead used as a parkway for cars. Another part of trail, constituting less than one mile of the greenway, was occupied by railroad tracks for the South Harrisburg Steel Mill.

Trail's history and evolution

The Capital Area Greenbelt Association (CAGA) was formed in 1990 to restore completed sections of the greenway and begin working on areas that had never been developed. The city of Harrisburg and four surrounding townships and boroughs worked with CAGA to develop and enhance the trail. Significant grants obtained throughout the 1990s allowed the 20-mile loop to be essentially completed. Today, the association continues to work on improving the trail through new safety measures and improved maintenance. Grant monies and dedicated volunteers keep the association going.