MKT Nature and Fitness Trail

Trail Miles: 8.9 miles, limestone (4.7 miles - City of Columbia, 4.2 miles - Boone County)

Trailheads & Connectors

(A) Jay Dix Station Park

Map & Address: opens in a new window3725 S. Scott Blvd

Trail: MKT Nature and Fitness Trail

Support Facilities: Parking lot

(B) MKT Trail – Scott Blvd. Access

Map & Address: opens in a new window3800 S. Scott Blvd.

Trail: MKT Nature and Fitness Trail

Support Facilities: Drinking fountain, Parking lot, Restroom (open year round), Bike fix-it station, Information Kiosk

Maps & Documents:

These approximately 5 acres located just southeast of the intersection of the MKT Trail and Scott Blvd. have been developed into an open field that can be used as a soccer practice area. A 34-car parking lot was constructed off Scott Blvd. to serve this area as well as providing access to the MKT Trail. The MKT Trail connects to the County’s portion of the MKT trail at this access through an underpass that leads to the west side of Scott Blvd. The County’s portion of the trail is 4.2 miles and connects to the cross-state KATY Trail.

(D) Forum Nature Area

Map & Address: opens in a new window2701 Forum Blvd.

Trail: MKT Nature and Fitness Trail

Support Facilities: Drinking fountain, Parking lot, Restroom

(H) Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at Battle Garden

Map & Address: opens in a new window800 W. Stadium Blvd.

Trail: MKT Nature and Fitness Trail

Support Facilities: Drinking fountain, Parking lot, Restroom

Maps & Documents:

(J) MKT Trail Plaza

Map & Address: opens in a new window501 S. Providence Rd.

Trail: MKT Nature and Fitness Trail

Maps & Documents:

The MKT Trail Plaza was constructed in 2009 and funded by GetAbout Columbia as part of the Stewart and Providence intersection improvement project. The plaza is located in a triangular green space bounded by accesses from Providence Road, Stewart Road, and the MKT Trail. A seating area with a drinking fountain and four benches that face the creek and a commemorative plaqueopens PDF file offers an ideal place for trail users to take a rest or meet up with friends.

James T. Scott Memorial Plaque

Members of the Association of Black Graduate and Professional Students solicited donations to have a marker placed in the plaza in memory of James Scott, a 35-year-old black man who was lynched by a mob from the Stewart Road Bridge in 1923. Scott was married at the time and working as a janitor at the MU medical school when he was accused of raping the 14-year-old white daughter of an MU German professor. Mr. Scott proclaimed his innocence to the end and never received his day in court.

On September 30, 2016 over 100 people attended the unveiling of the plaque marking the site of the lynching. Haeny, a speaker at the plaque unveiling and one of the board members of the Association, said, “Let this marker serve as a reminder of the continued work needed to end the racial injustices in our community and beyond.”

James T. Scott Memorial Plaque

The inscription on the plaque reads as follows:

LEST WE FORGET:
LYNCHING AT THE STEWART ROAD BRIDGE

Near this place James T. Scott, a Black janitor in the medical school at MU, was killed on April 29th, 1923. A mob brought Mr. Scott to the bridge, placed a noose around his neck, and pushed him over the railing while hundreds of spectators watched. MU’s presence and alleged student involvement in Mr. Scott’s murder stirred public outrage and made front-page news across the U.S. Although charges were filed against the leaders of the mob, none were convicted. Let this site remind us of the injustices of our historical legacy. As we continue the fight against systems of oppression, let us relfelct on how to better our community for all Columbians. The Lynching at Stewart Road Bridge reminds us of how far we have come and the work we have yet to do.

COMMISSIONED BY MU’S ASSOCIATION OF
BLACK GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS
2016

“Plaque marking site of lynching unveiled“
Columbia Daily Tribune, October 1, 2016
“New plaque memorializes 1923 lynching victim James T. Scott”
Columbia MIssourian, September 30, 2016
“MU Black Culture Center program honors victim of lynching”
Columbia Daily Tribune, February 16, 2016
“Columbia 1923 lynching victim James T. Scott to receive headstone Saturday“
Columbia Missourian, May 3, 2011

(K) Flat Branch Park

Map & Address: opens in a new window101 S. 4th St.

Trail: MKT Nature and Fitness Trail

Support Facilities: Drinking fountain, Parking, Bike fix-it station

101 S. 4th St.
(park area at 4th St. and Locust St.) – Phase I

400 Locust St.
(park area between Locust St. and Elm St.) – Phase II, Trailhead with street parking and parking lot off Elm St.

Possible expansion of Flat Branch Park –
City Council Presentation 10-17-16opens PDF file

Trail Information

MKT Trail Mapopens PDF file

Connectivity to MU Rec Trail and Mile Markersopens PDF file

Trail Guide Brochureopens PDF file

The MKT Trail is Columbia’s premiere trail. It ranked second in the nation for “Best Urban Trail” in the 2015 USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards. This 10-foot wide trail built on the old railbed of the MKT railroad begins in downtown Columbia in Flat Branch Park at 4th and Cherry Streets. The all-weather crushed limestone surface provides opportunities for walking, jogging, running, and bicycling. The City’s 4.7-mile MKT links to Boone County’s 4.2 miles of trail at the southwest edge of the city at Scott Blvd. (Contact Boone County at 573-886-4400 for maintenance concerns on the MKT Trail west of Scott Blvd.) The County’s trail connects with the State of Missouri’s Katy Trail State Park near McBaine. The distance from the start of the MKT Trail to the Katy Trail is 8.9 miles. The KATY Trail extends for 240 miles from St. Charles in eastern Missouri to Sedalia in western Missouri.

Support Facilities

Fitness stations at Stadium and Forum trailheads
Drinking fountains – open year-round at Stadium, Forum, and Scott Blvd.
Playfields at Scott Blvd. Access
Restrooms: Stadium (Open from April 15th to October 15th), Forum (Open year round), Scott Blvd. (Open year round)
Bike repair station at Scott Blvd.

The Forum Nature Area Trail winds through 108 acres including a small demonstration wetland habitat. It reconnects to the MKT Trail near Twin Lakes Recreation Area.

Thanks to funding support from the Park Sales Tax, trail users can travel the MKT Trail all the way to the Katy Trail without crossing a street. The trail was routed under Stewart, Providence, and Elm Streets as part of a capital improvement project completed in 2007. The year-round restrooms that the replaced port-a-pots at Forum and Scott Blvd. accesses were installed in 2008 and were also funded by the Park Sales Tax.