ST. MARYS — The Buckeye Trail Association and North Country Trail Association have designated the city of St. Marys a Trail Town.

St. Marys is the 16th community in Ohio to attain Buckeye Trail Town status, a designation that recognizes communities situated along the Buckeye Trail that support hikers with services, promote the Trail to its citizens and embrace the Trail as a resource to be protected and celebrated.

The Buckeye Trail and North Country Trail run concurrently on the Miami Erie Towpath Trail. The Miami Erie Towpath Trail runs along the historic Miami-Erie Canal. The Canal created a water route from the Ohio River to Lake Erie.

Construction began on the canal in 1825 and finished in 1845. The completion of the 273 mile canal drastically changed the price of goods shipped to and from Ohio to the East Coast. The peak year for the canal was 1851 with over 400 boats moving freight and passengers. Railroads diminished the use of the canal for commercial use in the late 1800s. The great flood of 1913 destroyed portions of the waterway and signaled the end of transportation on the Miami-Erie Canal.

To celebrate the Trail Town designation, a dedication ceremony will be held at the Memorial Park Gazebo on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 11:30 a.m. The ceremony will include comments from local officials and trail champions, in addition to a formal declaration of the community’s Trail Town designation bestowed upon the community by representatives of the Buckeye Trail Association and the Mayor of St Marys.

Immediately following the ceremony, the 52nd Annual Walk into Nature hike will commence at noon along the Miami Erie Canal Towpath. There will be a shuttle service available.

The community is invited to return to Memorial Park to enjoy live music, Arts & Crafts Show, a Farmers Market, youth activities, Girty’s Town Rendezvous & Civil War Reenactors and the Car Cruise-in.