Here are a few facts on the Wilderness Road for you to ponder
1. The road was not widened to handle Conestoga wagons until 1796
before this they used pack horses and walked
2 they generally went west in the winter so they would be in their new homes
in time for the spring planting of crops.
3. by 1783 12000 settlers had entered Kentucky via this route
4. by the late 1780's there were 10,000 a year moving along this trail,
mainly English, Ulster-Scots, Welsh, German lutherans
5. It was a very dangerous passage for the pioneers up until the end of the
Revolutionary war. The last battle took place at Ft Henry along the Ohio River
which ended the danger of Indian attacks. This in 1786
6. Between 1780 and 1810 300,000 people moved west along this route.
7. The first capital of Ky was at Harrodsburg which was the first permanent
settlement. The first in the region were Ulster Scots. by 1800 it was a
prosperous area of farms and held 3 future governors and one John Adair all of
Ulster Scot parents.
I will scan and send you some maps that I think will be of interest to you
all of which I included in my first volume of Callison History.
John
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