73,385
edits
t
(reopened) |
(t) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
''[[United States|United States ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[United States Migration Internal|Migration ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Roads ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Wilderness_Road|Wilderness Road]]'' | ''[[United States|United States ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[United States Migration Internal|Migration ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Roads ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Wilderness_Road|Wilderness Road]]'' | ||
[[Image:Wilderness Road Map.png|right|500px]]The '''Wilderness Road''' started at Bristol, Virginia (splitting off the [[Great Valley Road]]) and headed west along the Virginia-Tennessee border to the Cumberland Gap, and then went northwest to | [[Image:Wilderness Road Map.png|right|500px]]The '''Wilderness Road''' started at Bristol, Virginia (splitting off the [[Great Valley Road]]) and headed west along the Virginia-Tennessee border to the Cumberland Gap, across the nearby Cumberland River, and then went northwest to Boonesborough, Kentucky. Eventually, an extension of the road would reach Louisville, Kentucky on the Falls of the Ohio River. | ||
=== Historical Background === | === Historical Background === | ||
In 1774 Judge (and land speculator) Richard Henderson of North Carolina hired Daniel Boone to blaze a trail through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. An estimated 70,000 pioneers followed the Wilderness Road on foot or horseback into Kentucky and beyond before it was reopened as a wagon road in 1796. | In 1774 Judge (and land speculator) Richard Henderson of North Carolina hired Daniel Boone to blaze a trail through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. An estimated 70,000 pioneers followed the Wilderness Road on foot or horseback into Kentucky and beyond before it was reopened as a wagon road in 1796. | ||
=== Route === | === Route === | ||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
*Bristol, Washington, Virginia | *Bristol, Washington, Virginia | ||
*Cumberland Gap at the juncture of Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky | *Cumberland Gap at the juncture of Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky | ||
* | *Boonesborough, Madison, Kentucky | ||
'''Later extension:''' | '''Later extension:''' | ||
| Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
{{Tennessee|Tennessee}} | {{Tennessee|Tennessee}} | ||
[[Category:Migration_Routes | [[Category:Migration_Routes]] [[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:Tennessee]] [[Category:Virginia]] [[Category:Kentucky]] | ||