"The Great Wagon Road" of Virginia

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The vast majority of the settlers of the Shenandoah Valley and the mountains of Western Virginia (that include today’s Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky) as well as Western North Carolina, East Tennessee (that was at that time part of North Carolina), Up-state South Carolina, and North Georgia entered the British American Colonies through Philadelphia, initially settling in the Southeastern Pennsylvania – Maryland area.  In a relatively short timer many migrated down The Great Wagon Road (some also migrated west into Western Pennsylvania and what is now Northern West Virginia, and Ohio).  These people were primarily Ulster-Scots (Scotch-Irish) Presbyterians and  German Reformed or Lutheran though there were English and French Huguenots among them too.  As a general rule of privilege the English were able to obtain land closer to the coast.  The less desirable and far more dangerous mountain areas (due to Indians) were all that was available for the Ulster-Scotts and Germans.  Both of these groups were industries and the Ulster-Scots due to their difficult history of fighting for survival over generations  going back to the Scottish Lowlands made these peoples ideal for the tasks of settling the mountains and dealing with the Indians.  As we know they were successful.   My Dad’s ancestors all came to the Shenandoah Valley and Southwestern Virginia as a part of this migration.

Ed Painter – Narrows, VA



From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of NW Mailing List
Sent: Sunday, July 31, 2011 1:49 PM
To: N&W Mailing List
Subject: "The Great Wagon Road" of Virginia

Ed Painter mentions "The Great Wagon Road" in his recent response to "N&W in 1911--Two Christmas items."

Wikipedia features a great reproduction of the 1751 "Fry-Jefferson Map" locating the Great Wagon Road with respect to the various mountains in the Shenandoah Valley.  To make the image full-screen, double click on the thumbnail, then click "Full Resolution," then click again to magnify it even more.  What is amazing about this map is how accurately those old birds had figured out the configuration of the mountain ranges, even at that early date, probably long before any serious surveying had been done of that frontier part of the state.  (How do you think they did it?  Sextant and compass only...?)
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wagon_Road

If anyone knows of a more detailed map of the Great Wagon Road, perhaps locating its path with respect to present day towns and features, I'd love to see it.

Sorry if this ain't "pure railroadin' ...," but it's about as close to railroadin' as one could have come in the Year 1751 Anno Domini !

     -- abram burnett, a piker


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