WILLOW CREEK — A proposal to convert the abandoned Aroostook Valley Lumber Company railbed into a multi-use recreational trail could offer Willow Creek its first significant economic opportunity since the flooring mill closed in 1972, the Gazette has learned.

The Aroostook Nordic Club proposes converting the abandoned Aroostook Valley Lumber railbed into a multi-use recreational trail, marking the first concrete step toward a tourism economy in post-mill Willow Creek.
The Aroostook Nordic Club proposes converting the abandoned Aroostook Valley Lumber railbed into a multi-use recreational trail, marking the first concrete step toward a tourism economy in post-mill Willow Creek.

The Aroostook Nordic Club, a recreational organization based in Houlton, has submitted a preliminary proposal to the Board of Selectmen that would transform the 14-mile right-of-way — which has sat unused since the logging spur was abandoned in 1957 — into a year-round trail for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, hiking, and mountain biking.

“This railbed is an asset that we have been treating as a liability,” said Arthur Whitcomb, who chairs a newly formed ad-hoc committee to study the proposal. “The grade is already built. The bridges are still standing. Converting it to recreational use would cost a fraction of building a new trail from scratch.”

The proposal comes at a low point in the town’s fortunes. The 1980 census confirmed that Willow Creek’s population has fallen to 1,723 — the lowest since before the mill opened in 1903. Of the 87 workers idled by the mill’s closure in 1972, fewer than half remain in town.

But the proposal faces significant hurdles. The right-of-way is owned by multiple parties, including the state of Maine, the township, and private timber companies. The bridges would require inspection and likely replacement. And the town’s budget, already stretched by declining tax revenues, cannot fund the project without outside assistance.

“We are talking about applying for state and federal recreational trails grants,” Whitcomb said. “There is money available for exactly this kind of project. The question is whether we have the will to go after it.”

Jed Thorne, the town’s unofficial historian, noted that the corridor follows a route used by the Wabanaki people long before the railroad arrived. “It became a timber road, then a rail spur, then a relic,” he said. “Perhaps its next life is as something that brings people back to this town.”

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