United States 
Migration Trails and Roads Wilderness Road
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 Boonesboro, Kentucky. Eventually, an extension of the road would reach Louisville, Kentucky on the Falls of the Ohio River.
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 turned into a wagon road in 1796.
Route
- Bristol, Washington, Virginia
- Cumberland Gap where Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky meet
- Boonesboro
Later extension:
- Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky
Settlers and Records
For partial list of settlers who used the Wilderness Road, see .
Internet Sites
Resources
- Johnson, Robert Foster. Wilderness Road Cemeteries in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Owensboro, Kentucky: McDowell Publications, 1981. FHL US/CAN Book 973 V3j.