“We strive to connect all Missourians to the landscape along the Missouri River and the Katy Trail west of St. Louis by creating experiences that draw people out and make them more aware of the need to conserve this remarkable region. Missouri’s water, agricultural resources and natural scenic beauty are some of the state’s greatest assets. We believe that if we truly understand the value of these assets, we will be motivated to conserve them for future generations of Missourians. That is why we engage people through events and strategic partnerships with conservation organizations.” Magnificent Missouri.
Treloar township today presents a uniquely rich cultural landscape along the Katy Trail. At the town’s southern border, overlooking the 2.5 mile wide Pinckney Bottom flood plain, a quadrangle is formed by the Katy trailhead, the 120 year-old Mercantile building, and an original grain elevator previously used to load grain into passing train cars. This humble public space is geographically and culturally central to the town and serves as trail parking, an agricultural equipment staging area and a community gathering and event space.
Patterhn Ives is collaborating with Magnificent Missouri to envision a new outdoor social space and outpost providing essentials and overnight accommodations; water, shelter, and respite. This carefully positioned intervention endeavors to serve cyclists along the Katy Trail and community members alike, with plantings and tree species that bloom or fruit around important cultural seasons (harvest) underlining the region’s entwined culture and ecology. The goal of the project will be to energize this segment of the Trail while reinforcing the need for conservation of landscape and preservation of local culture.