Local Residents Invited to Celebrate Collins Trail History at April 5th Ceremony

The Dare County Trails Committee is hosting a ceremony at the Marshall and Gussie Collins Trail in Manteo, North Carolina. The event, set for April 5, 2024, will take place at the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center, located at 950 Marshall C. Collins Drive. This location also marks the trail's starting point, established in November 2017.

The trail spans 2 miles from the Dare County Governmental Center in Manteo to the Coastal Studies Institute in Skyco. It offers views of woodlands and the marsh bordering the Croatan Sound. The ceremony will cover the history of Marshall and Gussie Collins, an African-American couple who owned the land around the trail.

The event is open to all and will include speeches from Deborah Jefferson and Sharon Warner, descendants of the Collins family. They will discuss the family's history and the 300-acre property they once owned. Part of this land now contains the Dare County Administration Building and Dare County Justice Center.

Attendees can enjoy light refreshments and a walk along the trail after the ceremony. The event aims to recognize the Collins couple's contributions to Dare County.

The Dare County Trails Committee, part of the Dare County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board since 2019, promotes awareness of existing and potential trails in Dare County. The committee hopes events like this will inspire more people to appreciate the county's natural beauty.

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