The public is invited to attend a ribbon cutting and a three-mile guided hike of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 5, for National Trails Day at the Elkin Municipal Park.

Former U.S. Senator Jim Broyhill, who sponsored the federal legislation that created the trail will be on hand to cut the ribbon officially opening the trail and wayside exhibit detailing the area’s historical significance during the Revolutionary War.

“It is very exciting that we will opening the very first wayside exhibit on the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail,” said Teresa Howell, who is the Main Street manager for Elkin and helping organize the Overmountain Victory Trail Association event for Saturday.

“There is history being made that Senator Jim Broyhill, who helped enact the legislation that started the trail, will be here,” said Howell.

There are only 15 National Historic Trails in the U.S. and one of the trailheads start here in Elkin, said Howell.

During the ceremony Saturday, those attending will learn the story of the “first National Guard,” the Surry militia of 1780 and the Overmountain men, who tracked down Major Patrick Ferguson and the threatening British forces in the wild backwoods of the Carolinas.

The Overmountain men found the opposition at Kings Mountain in S.C. In a battle lasting only a few hours, they turned the tide of the American Revolution toward the victory realized almost exactly one year later at Yorktown, Va. Come walk in their footsteps.

Two wayside exhibits at Elkin Municipal Park and a new paved pull-off at the muster ground will be opened at a dedication ceremony for the new public space at 11 a.m. following the hike on the trail

Lunch will be served to participates following the ceremony.

This event is made available with funds from the National Park Foundation Active Trails Grant, 2009 by the The Coca-Cola Company and by volunteers of OVTA in partnership with the National Parks Service