Town's revival goes by trolley

FORT SCOTT, Kan.

There's more to this small, southeastern Kansas town than a restored frontier fort. Fort Scott's old-style trolley bus has sparked tourism, chamber and city officials say.

Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau officials believe a similar venture will work here, allowing tourists to get a good look at the Mississippi River city's attractions and historic sites.

While the concept of a tourism trolley is new to Cape Girardeau, it's a popular fixture in Fort Scott, population 8,200. Since the city began offering its "Dolly Trolley" rides in 1990, more than 100,000 people have taken the 50-minute tour.

Last year, more than 4,200 people rode the trolley. The number of riders used to be even higher, said Gary Emry, president of the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce.

"We are just now gaining back our tourism numbers," he said.

Fort Scott saw a decline in tourism after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as Americans cut back on vacation trips, he said.

The trolley rides originate at the community's visitors center, but the vehicle makes hotel stops for large group tours, he said.

"It's a nostalgic icon," Emry said of the trolley's popularity. "They see it and they associate it with history."

The Fort Scott chamber operates the tours and charges $5 for adults and $3.50 for children. The trolley generates about $20,000 annually, money that the chamber plows back into marketing the town to tourists, Emry said.

In Fort Scott, the city pays the two trolley drivers who share duties during the tourist season and inform visitors about the town's history on the 50-minute trolley tour.

The trolley runs a regular schedule from April 15 through Oct. 31, and operates special "ghost" tours retelling tales of Fort Scott's haunted past at night in October. Holiday tours occur during the Christmas season.

Regular tours run on the hour during the day -- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. until late May and then 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the remainder of the tourist season, said Leah Wilson, the chamber's tourism coordinator.

Creating tourism

Tourism wasn't always so prevalent in Fort Scott.

By the 1960s, population was declining. Jobs were being lost. The economy was in a shambles and the old military fort was an eyesore.

But after the fort was declared a national historic site and funding was obtained to restore the fort, the city started drawing tourists.

Still -- even in the 1980s -- people would come to the restored, 1842-era fort but they wouldn't stop to shop in the city's downtown, officials recalled. Meanwhile, the largest company in Fort Scott sold to an out-of-town firm, which eliminated 500 jobs.

But in 1990, the city began operating a tourism bus designed like an old trolley car. A wealthy, local entrepreneur paid for the original trolley, a used vehicle that cost about $45,000.

"We ran it four or five years and then traded it in," said Don Russell, economic development director in Fort Scott.

About three years ago, the city replaced that trolley with a newer model. A federal grant paid 75 percent of the cost. The city and chamber of commerce kicked in the remaining money needed to purchase the $255,000 vehicle.

"They are not cheap," Russell said. "But it is definitely the way to go."

Fort Scott's latest trolley offers a smoother ride, a built-in sound system, and heating and air conditioning, he said. "The other ones were a lot noisier," Russell said, adding that it made it harder to hear the narration of the trolley drivers.

But for a community trying to start a trolley program, even a used trolley with wooden seats will benefit tourism, he said.

In order to secure the federal grant, the vehicle had to be handicapped accessible, Russell said.

Fort Scott also had to make the trolley available for regular public transit as a condition of the grant.

"We were obligated to offer it as a public service," Emry said. "We offered it at a reasonable rate. It was a buck to get on and ride it."

But after about a year and a half, only a handful of people had used the trolley for routine transportation around town. "It just wasn't feasible," said Emry.

Russell said, "It just didn't work." People wanting basic transportation didn't want to sit through a tour of the city, he said.

Emry said the Fort Scott trolley now provides basic transit rides in the community only on an as-needed basis.

That meets federal requirements while the trolley's focus remains on transporting tourists.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123