“It’s been a long time coming,” said Fellsmere Mayor Joel Tyson, who was joined by other officials and residents last Thursday for the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the Fellsmere Trailhead Preserve & Welcome Center, hosted by the City of Fellsmere and the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce.
Located northwest of the I-95/County Road 512 interchange in Fellsmere, the site was acquired in 2008 in partnership with the Florida Communities Trust and Indian River County. With a $316,000 grant to Fellsmere through the Federal Highway Administration and additional funding from the city, the Welcome Center project was completed. It is the newest of three along the designated stretch of the Indian River Lagoon National Scenic Byway, joined by the Ted Moorhead Lagoon House in Micco and the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce Pelican Porch.
The official opening of the 86-acre preserve and 1,200-square-foot Welcome Center was the successful result of a partnership that began in April 1999, when 36 active community supporters representing Brevard and Indian River counties, eight municipalities, the St John’s River Water Management District, the Florida Inland Navigation District and a number of community organizations came together to form the Indian River Lagoon National Scenic Byway Coalition.
Among ribbon-cutting attendees were Sebastian Chamber Executive Director Beth Mitchell and Indian River County Historian Ruth Stanbridge, a tireless advocate for historic preservation who relentlessly sought the Florida Scenic Highway designation despite some early resistance.
Mitchell termed the project “a very good example of tax money at work” and credited Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker, Fellsmere Community Development Director Mark Mathes and former Fellsmere mayor (and Indian River County Commissioner-elect) Susan Adams for their efforts in obtaining the grant funding.
Indian River Lagoon National Scenic Byway President Tim Ford said the new center “helps further the coalition mission to educate visitors and residents about the area’s ecology, history and culture.”
Long-time Fellsmere resident and photographer Korky Korker, who has been responsible for restoring old photographs and other items of significance to Fellsmere’s historic preservation, sees the Preserve & Welcome Center as “a great asset to Fellsmere.” Korker looks to the future, when a pedestrian walkway over I-95 will connect the byway from Sebastian and ultimately extend it west to Blue Cypress.
Nunemaker too spoke of the “Rail Trail,” so-called because it follows the old Fellsmere Railroad bed. With the connection from Fellsmere to Sebastian, Nunemaker sees its potential as “a huge economic incubator.”
The preserve, open sunrise to sunset, offers walking and interpretative trails, picnic facilities, a playground, equestrian trails, primitive camping and a ROPES/Challenge Course. The Welcome Center provides information about the history of Fellsmere as well as interesting things to see and do in the area.
Tyson said that initially the Welcome Center area will not be fenced or locked, so the public can enjoy it fully. He expressed hope that people will use it with respect so it can remain unrestricted.
For more information: www.sebastianchamber.com or www.indianriverlagoonbyway.com
