August 2005: Stow and the Track Road/Crow Island property owner have signed the recreational easement for 7,100 linear feet of the RR right of way, including 1,300 feet of Assabet riverfront, for a total 21 acres. This is the first of the Stow properties to have a completed trail agreement. The section is not open to the public yet, as there is still a 1/2 mile in private ownership.     ...map

May 19, 2004: The Stow Town Meeting unanimously passed Article 44, to spend $14,667 for the town's share of a 1998 federal and state grant to secure the right of way for some of Stow's portion of the Assabet River Rail Trail (ARRT). The easement will be for 7,100 linear feet of the original right of way, including 1,300 feet of Assabet riverfront, for a total 21 acres.

October 26, 2000: At press conference held by Senator Pam Resor, Senator Cheryl Jacques, & Mass Highway Commissioner Matt Amorello announced the Mass Highway Board's vote-to make available $654,280.00 for the acquisition side of the 1998 ISTEA grant. Stow and the other 4 communities will finally have funds to work with to secure the ARRT right of way. Stow's share of this amount is about $132,000.

July 11, 2000: The ARRT was incorporated as "ARRT Inc.", a Massachusetts registered non-profit organization.

June 15, 2000: Stow and the other 4 commmunities issued a RFP to hire a consultant to prepare an up-to-date ARRT Master Plan. The plan would look at all the various ARRT segments, refine the proposed trail alignment, identify how all the pieces fit into the bigger picture, develop cost estimates, and detail a phasing plan from now until the completion of the entire ARRT.

May 18, 1998: An article authorizing the Town of Stow to appropriate funds for the first phase of the rail trail project were passed at Town Meeting.

Avery Associates has begun the Stow appraisals that were authorized by the 1997 grant ARRT received for land acquisition.

April 1998: The ARRT received a grant of $3,000 from the Department of Environmental Management's Greenways and Trails Demonstration Grant program. The grant was used to conduct a natural resource inventory and assessment of the proposed ARRT route.

February 1998: Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for appraising the entire ARRT route including Stow, were advertised in local newspapers on February 19. Bids were opened on March 6. Determining the fair market value of the parcels comprising the ARRT route is a key step in securing the federal funds earmarked for acquisition.

December 1997: The federal government approved $17 million in funding for transportation enhancements in Massachusetts, which included the grant proposal submitted by the five ARRT communities to aquire the legal rights to the ARRT route.

May 1997: The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) recommended that the Assabet River Rail Trail receive funding in fiscal year 1998 to begin acquiring portions of the right-of-way of the former Marlborough Rail Line.

In a grant proposal submitted by the five ARRT communities (Marlborough, Hudson, Stow, Maynard, and Acton), the towns would receive $668,000 to acquire the legal rights for the continuous 12.5 mile right-of-way.