The Katy Trail gives visitors a view of Missouri that they just can’t get anywhere else and the Peers Store provides a place to welcome everyone.”

Dan Burkhardt

A new season has begun for the Country Store Corridor along the Katy Trail near Marthasville. A 3.5-mile stretch from Peers Store to the Treloar Mercantile will offer a variety of summer events focusing on conservation and fun-filled days on the Katy.

Peers Store, the headquarters of Magnificent Missouri, will extend its hours for the 2022 season. The 19th Century general store will be open every day but Wednesday — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Peers Store will continue to feature live music each weekend from noon to 3 p.m.

“We are very focused on offering locally produced products at the store this year,” said owner Dan Burkhardt. “We have candles, honey and unique jams and jellies, including red bud and dandelion.”

Across the road from the store, visitors can explore a four-acre prairie full of native wildflowers. Late June is the peak time to meander through the pathways of the prairie.

The second annual Sweet Corn Sunday will be held at the Peers Store Sunday, August 14. Visitors will enjoy live music, brats and locally grown sweet corn on the cob. The Missouri State Parks Department will provide tram rides from Peers to Treloar.

Dan and Connie Burkhardt, founders of Magnificent Missouri, have recently announced the Treloar Mercantile has made it onto the National Register of Historic Places, declaring the 1896 building is worthy of preservation. According to the National Park Service, listing on the registry “provides formal recognition of a property’s historical, architectural, or archeological significance.” Only seven properties from Warren County are listed on the Register.

The Treloar Mercantile and Farmer’s Bank was built following the construction of the Missouri, Kansas, Texas Railroad (Katy Trail). The historic mercantile is only open during special events, but the giant corn sculpture and murals on the grain elevators can be viewed at any time from the Katy trailhead at mile marker 84.4.

The 12th annual Treloar Elevator Party will be held Sunday, Oct. 16, featuring live music, vintage farm equipment and tram rides between Treloar and Peers.

Visitors to the Treloar Mercantile can check out the Trees of Treloar lot, planted in 2022 and featuring Missouri native trees, including redbud, sassafras, serviceberry, persimmon and birch. The Burkhardts hope this will be a gathering place for bikers from the Katy and families visiting the corridor.

“The Katy Trail gives visitors a view of Missouri that they just can’t get anywhere else and the Peers Store provides a place to welcome everyone — from near and far — and now we can do it six days a week,” said Burkhardt. “The Peers Prairie gives people a chance to walk through a native prairie while looking across the road at a historic store that embodies the culture and history of the area. With both Peers and Treloar now on the National Register of Historic Places we have a very unique opportunity to show off both local history and conservation — and historic locations to host events like Sweet Corn Sunday and the Treloar Elevator Party.”

Magnificent Missouri, developed in 2012, supports conservation, economic development and historic preservation efforts in communities along the Missouri River and Katy Trail. The organization focuses on conserving and advocating for the last 100 miles of the Missouri River Valley from St. Louis to Hermann. Among its projects are protecting farms and woodlands, planting trees and prairies and fighting invasive species, such as the bush honeysuckle.

To learn more about the Country Store Corridor and Magnificent Missour,i visit magnificentmissouri.org.