Butler Freeport Community Trail mural celebrates the 25-year effort to complete the 21-mile trail

A giant mural mounted on a partial wall left standing along the Butler Freeport Community Trail in Winfield honors the visionaries, volunteers and public servants who gave years — and in some cases, decades — to make the popular trail a reality.

“The mural depicts the history and development of the Butler Freeport Community Trail, one of the first 400 rails-to-trails (conversions) in the U.S.,” said Chris Ziegler, president of the Butler Freeport Community Trail.

Giuseppe Mammano of Cadogan painted the colorful 8 foot by 32 foot mural.

It depicts early trail advocates, people walking and biking along the trail, a railroad locomotive with a coal tender and a caboose — all at the Marwood Road Trailhead on a wall left in place from the A. Krause General Store that was built in 1896.

“The name (of the trail) is perfect — without the community, this trail wouldn’t exist,” Ziegler said. “It stands as a symbol of what’s possible when people come together with a shared purpose. The trail connects more than just places; it brings people together and connects entire communities.”

The development of the trail is a celebration of more than 25 years of vision, advocacy, legal groundwork and volunteer commitment, she said.

The mural depicts early trail advocates, such as John Morgan, in the top left panel, who was the Buffalo Township solicitor in the 1980s and instrumental in the original purchase of the corridor from the railroad.

At the bottom right is Albert “Ouch” Roenigk, a Buffalo Township supervisor for 42 years who was one of the first local leaders to support the rails-to-trails movement. He was a township supervisor when the municipality purchased the abandoned rail corridor in 1988 for $90,000.

He is depicted with Ron Bennett at the ribbon cutting. Bennett was the first president of the Butler Freeport Community Trail Council, who played a critical role in establishing the trail council as the trail’s volunteer backbone. He advocated for community ownership, long-term stewardship, and volunteer mobilization, Ziegler said.

Larry Lutz, a Buffalo Township solicitor, fought a 15-year railbanking court case, setting a state precedent for rail-trail development. Lutz was a longtime volunteer and legal adviser for Butler Freeport Community Trail Council. He is depicted working on the trail pouring out a bucket of surface material.

A caboose shown prominently was bought from the former Cellar Works Brewing Co. in Buffalo Township in 2020 and relocated to the Helmbold and Center Avenue site in Winfield. Ziegler says it serves as a public gathering space.

The two children in the mural represent kids riding on the Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant 1-mile asphalt trail section completed last year, Ziegler said. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources helped to fund the project to improve accessibility for children and individuals with mobility challenges.

The final panel shows the dedicated trail bridge into Butler, symbolizing the completion of the 21-mile trail corridor, Ziegler said.

“It marks the culmination of a 25-year grassroots effort,” she said.