MILLEDGEVILLE, Ohio — A new 1.7-mile paved bike path now connects the villages of Milledgeville and Octa in Fayette County, adding another link to the county’s growing recreational trail network, the Fayette County Park District announced this week.
The path follows an existing railroad right-of-way and includes a new parking lot in Milledgeville for trail users, according to a Facebook post from the park district. The roughly $2.47 million project was funded largely through the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program, which supports pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, recreational trails and other non-motorized transportation projects statewide.
One of the trail’s centerpiece features is a 171-foot, three-span truss bridge that carries the path over Rattlesnake Creek. The bridge was originally built in 1916, salvaged from another Ohio county, then relocated to the Fayette County site and reconstructed as part of the project, the park district said.
The new segment extends an existing bike path that runs into the county from Greene County to the west and is designed to eventually connect into the trail system within the city of Washington Court House, according to the park district.
Milledgeville, a Jasper Township village of about 98 residents as of the 2020 census, was platted in 1855 around a gristmill, the source of its name. Octa, home to about 58 residents, sits along Rattlesnake Creek and was originally known as Allentown before being renamed for Octa Barnes; it already includes a linear park with a trail that runs toward Jamestown in Greene County.
Fayette County Park District board members Todd Peterson, Chris Paisley, David Kiger, Rod List and Chelsie Baker toured the new path and bridge, along with a trail rider using a recumbent handcycle, the park district said in its announcement. Board member Jim Garland was not present for the visit, the district said.
The park district credited the Friends of Fayette County Parks & Trails, a volunteer group, for its continued support of the local trail system.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Fayette County Park District.
