Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society
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Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society |
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OUTREACH FOR HUGO'S EMIGRANT TRAILS Outreach Hugo is blessed with a rich heritage of historic roads, rough though they were. The Hugo Emigrant Trails Committee (Trails Committee) was formed to bring together all those who want to learn more about the early transportation in the area, from the casual admirer to the dedicated researcher.1 The aim is to collect and record information about Hugo’s emigrant trails, especially its two historic 1856 roads, and to share this information (e.g., through Hugo History Day, talks, hikes, group visits, training exercises, workshops, publications, web sites, etc.).
A Trails Committee goal is to identify all potential property owners along Hugo’s immigrant trails and contact them for the purpose of sharing its trail inventory efforts and discover if they are interested in participating. Interested participating neighbors are the key to accurately mapping, marking, and monitoring our emigrant trails. Outreach to neighbors is extremely important because it identifies the Hugo Neighborhood as a responsible organization. While we want to mark and preserve the trails, we want to do it in a manner which engenders hospitality, rather than hostility, from the property owners. Do you own property in the Hugo region where one of our two 1856 roads once passed? Would you like to know more about their history? Trailmarking Each year the Hugo Neighborhood sponsors at least one trail expedition. Mike Walker, Education Chair, is the current head of these projects and he works searching for trail traces with interested property owners in the area.At the present time trailmarking is not accomplished with physical markers, but with global position system (GPS) readings and with more traditional mapping techniques. Visit our web site for past trail marking expeditions. Web Page: http://jeffnet.org/~hugo/ The purpose of the Hugo Emigrant Wagon Trail Inventory (HEWTI) and trailmarking is to help local preservation advocates, land-use planners, economic development coordinators, and tourism promoters understand the wealth of historic assets in the Hugo community. Interested participating neighbors are the key to accurately mapping, marking, and monitoring our emigrant trails.The HEWTI could provide a basis for preservation and planning at all levels of government and for individual groups, or neighbors. It is important to note that the inventory is not an end in itself, but a beginning for neighbors who value their community's history. Trail Monitors The Trails Committee members, including Trail Monitors, will never enter private property without permission. In addition to this fieldwork, members will research the history of the area in order to better understand their subject. Trail Monitors watch for potential changes in the community which might adversely affect inventory efforts of the Trails Committee, including the benefits of preservation, development, and promotion of emigrant trails.2 They submit periodic trail preservation reports to the Trails Committee and Hugo Neighborhood and are advocates of including emigrant trails as a map theme in Josephine County geographic information system (GIS).
Trail Monitors report little or no major direct adverse activity along its two emigrant trails. The exception is the indirect cumulative effects resulting from the continued residential development of the trails. Want more information? Contact an officer of the Hugo Neighborhood, or a trails monitor on how you can become involved in this project.
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© 2011 Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society |
