Standing between many of the early American colonies and the majority of the continent were the Appalachians. The entire mountainous region was thick with tree and undergrowth, hillsides and rivers, breached only by the game trails of buffalo and game. These buffalo trails were used by both the Indians and early settlers alike. Settlers like trappers, hunters, traders and cattlemen crisscrossed the isolated region along these often difficult trails. Overtime, these trails were widened time and again, to accommodate humans, horses, and eventually wagons as settlers sought to expand ever westward. An Atlas of Appalachian Trails to the Ohio River, by Carrie Eldridge, shows the location of little known trails as well as the major routes which passed through Virginia during those early expansion years.
Along these routes grew towns and communities. Only four major routes crossed the Appalachians from the eastern seaboard to the Ohio River. But, the area spread out along minor routes and eventually many of the major and minor routes became state and interstate highways. With so few routes and so many settlers, this Atlas potentially offers a wealth of research information to the town names and routes one’s ancestors may have used to move out west.
At 11″ x 17″ this Atlas offers maps at a size which are easy to read. Mixed with the maps are an extensive background to the early settlers, their migrations, and the importance of these towns and trails. With two columns per text page, each the size of a standard page, this book is the equivalent to a book twice as thick. Below are the Table of Contents followed by a listing of the Maps and Illustrations in the order in which they appear in the book.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Early English Settlements
The Physical Barrier
A Road System to Communicate
The First English Highway
Original Trails on the Frontier
- Buffalo Trails and Indian Paths
- Traders Trails
- Routes of the Fur Trade
The Moveable English Frontier
- The Frontier in New England
- A Southern Frontier
Building a Road System
- The First Obstacle – The Fall Line
- The Carolina Road (Upper Road-Rogues Road)
- The Great Wagon Road
- Trails East of the Mountains
War on the Frontier
- The Road of War
- Aftermath of the French and Indian War
Attaching the Mountains
- Settlers Fill the Valleys and Cross the Ridges
- Revolution and the West
Eastern Virginia Meets the Valley
Kentucky Country
Ohio on the Other Side 1785-1795
Trails on Highway and Turnpikes
- Trails to the Forks of the Ohio
- Central Virginia Trails
- Trails of Kentucky
Turnpike Life
The Continent is Open
Bibliography
Maps and Illustrations
Figure A. Western Trails of Virginia
Figure 1. Physical Regions of the East Coast
Figure 2. King’s Highway
Figure 3. Early Indian Trails
Figure 4. Trails East of the Mountains
Figure 5. Trails at the Time of the French and Indian War
Figure 6. Military Roads of the French and Indian War
Figure 7. Frontier Defenses 1755-1760
Figure 8. Frontier Trails 1766-1776
Figure 9. Virginia’s Blue Ridge Gaps
Figure 10. Kentucky Settlement Area
Figure 11. Kentucky & Tennessee Pioneer Trails
Figure 12. Ohio’s Lands
Figure 13. Roads to the Ohio by 1800
Figure 14. The Ohio Company Trek
Figure 15. The Travels of Levi Van Hoose & Family
Figure 16. Virginia Fortifications 1769-1787
Appendix A – The Travels of Settlers Levi Van Hoose & Family
Appendix B – Western Virginian Blockhouses, Stockades, and Forts of the Revolutionary War Period
Order a copy of An Atlas of Appalachian Trails to the Ohio River from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: CE01, Price: $19.60.