The Project - How We're Changing Things
With our partners Berks and Montgomery Counties, their respective Redevelopment Authorities, several municipalities, and a host of donors, foundations, and volunteers, our grassroots effort is transforming a forgotten Civil War-era railroad and greenway into an engine of community and economic development. This partnership’s work to build our region’s tourism, travel, and outdoor recreation economy has been lauded by the White House (2015), the National Endowment for the Humanities (2020), the National Association of Counties (Innovation Award, 2020), the George Herbert Walker Bush Points of Light Foundation (2020), the Huffington Post (“This is How you Bring a Town Back from the Brink,” (2016) and USA Today (who ranked us as the second-best heritage rail attraction in all of North America).
Discover the hidden gem of Berks County - where tourism & recreation thrive!
Several years ago, in the face of the loss of several of our last legacy industries, the Berks County Community Foundation funded a citizen-driven, professionally-led Visioning & Strategic Planning process to evaluate and plan for our region’s economic future. The process included local and regional businesses, local, state, and federal political leaders, regional planners, and the Urban Partners economic planning firm. The study found that tourism and recreation were our region’s best bet for building a resilient, robust, and sustainable economy, and made several recommendations for supporting and growing that sector. The Trust and its partners continue their work to implement those recommendations, with the successful record indicated above.
Our Mission
The Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust empowers people through job creation, skills-building, education, and recreation through its work to preserve and interpret the historic, cultural, and natural heritage of the oldest ironmaking region in the new world.
Our Vision
e have a vision of a region where our diverse population celebrates the history and culture of the home they share and, through their engagement with the Colebrookdale Railroad’s Secret Valley, make connections with each other and with our past that fosters re-investment into the future.
The Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust’s mission embodies three core tenants: accessibility and inclusivity, education, and empowerment through economic development. Through our work, we
- connect individuals, families, and students of all ages and cognitive and physical abilities to the outdoors with a focus on historical and natural treasures that define the identity of Pennsylvania and the people who call it home.
- offer innovative educational programming that interprets history and nature to residents and visitors with lessons about the ethnic diversity and ingenuity that made this region the crucible of the New World, the environmental destruction of unbalanced growth, and the economic and quality of life benefits that have come with the restoration of the natural and historic environments.
- increase awareness, appreciation, and use of areas within the Secret Valley while promoting health and well-being through recreation.
- Teach restoration skills and other job skills through our at-risk empowerment program.
- advance the regional economy through an expanded workforce dedicated to education, tourism, and recreation.
MAKE AN IMPACT
Donate today and help bring the railroad back to life!
