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Home , American pioneer, Benjamin Logan, History of Kentucky, James Harrod, Kentucky, Wilderness Road

Migration Routes into Don Rightmyer Former Editor, Kentucky Ancestors , 2008-13 Email: [email protected] Significance of Emigration into Kentucky in the Eighteenth Century

First non-contiguous settlement of an away from the established eastern colonies. Today’s state of Kentucky was still a part of the westernmost territory of colonial in the (became a separate state in 1792). Between 1774 and 1800, there were over 200,000 who had migrated to Kentucky.

Major Geographic Barriers to Settlement in Kentucky Distance Permanent separation from family, friends, and communities back east. Chain Limitations on the amount of goods/supplies that could be transported from the starting points.

Initial Settlement Period was Complicated by the Beginning of the Revolutionary War Settlers not only had to deal with the realities of the travel from the colonies into unsettled Kentucky, but also hostile attacks during the war years.

Major Routes for Movement of People into Kentucky

The Wilderness Trail and Associated Paths of Travel Into and Through Kentucky --Extensive land trip from , Virginia or other starting points into Kentucky --Early stages, no protective stations en route. Moved in large groups. Many people lost their lives during the trip. --Early settlements were crucial for movement, resupply, and protection: Ft. Harrod, Ft. , Boonesborough, etc. --The Wilderness Trail was not improved to handle wagons and carts as the until 1796.

The River -- Started from Redstone, Pennsylvania, to destinations in Kentucky— Limestone, (Maysville, Kentucky) --Unpredictable river transport, water levels and conditions, hostile attacks from the riverbanks. --No sites for assistance or replenishment of supplies en route to Kentucky.

Migration Routes into Kentucky Bibliography

Articles Check both the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and the Filson Club History Quarterly for articles on the people, forts and stations of the early settlement period in Kentucky.

Books Alvord, Clarence W. and Lee Bidgood. The First Explorations of the Trans Allegheny Region by the Virginians. Cleveland: Arthur Clark, 1912. Banta, R. E. Rivers of America: The Ohio . New : Rinehart, 1949. Billington, Ray A. Westward Expansion: A History of the American . : Macmillan, 1967. Chinn, George. The History of Harrodsburg and “The Great Settlement Area,” 17741900. Harrodsburg, 1985. Clark, Thomas. Frontier America . New York: Scribner’s, 1959. Collins, Lewis and Richard Collins. . 1874, Kentucky Historical Society reprint, 1966. Cotterill, Robert. History of Pioneer Kentucky . : Johnson and Hardin, 1917. Eslinger, Ellen, ed. Running Mad for Kentucky: Frontier Travel Accounts . : University Press of Kentucky, 2004. Faragher, John M. : The Life and Legend of an . New York: Holt, 1992. Friend, Craig. The Buzzel About Kentuck . Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1999. Harper, Josephine. Guide to the Draper Manuscripts . Madison, WI: Historical Society Press, 1983. Irvin, Helen D. Women in Kentucky . Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1979. Jillson, Willard. Pioneer Kentucky . Frankfort: The State Journal, 1934. Kincaid, Robert. The Wilderness Road . : Bobbs-Merrill, reprint 1990. Lofaro, Michael. Life and Adventures of Daniel Boone . Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1986. Mason, Kathryn Harrod. of Kentucky . Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1951. O’Malley, Nancy. Stockading Up: A Study of Pioneer Stations in the Upper of Kentucky . Frankfort: Kentucky Heritage Council, 1987. Pusey, William A. The Wilderness Road to Kentucky . New York: George H. Doran, 1921. Ranck, George. Boonesborough. Louisville: John P. Morton and Co., 1901. Rice, Otis. Frontier Kentucky . Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1993. Scalf, Henry. Kentucky’s Last Frontier . Prestonsburg, 1966. Speed, Thomas. The Wilderness Road . Louisville: John P. Morgan, 1886. Talbert, Charles. : Kentucky Frontiersman. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1962. WPA. Military History of Kentucky. Frankfort: The State Journal, 1939. Yater, George. Two Hundred Years at the Falls of the Ohio: A History of Louisville & Jefferson . Louisville: Heritage Corporation, 1979. Young, Chester R., ed. Westward into Kentucky: The arrative of Daniel Trabue. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1981.

Presenter: Don Rightmyer works at the Mercer County Public Library in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. He served as reference librarian and Kentucky Room supervisor at the Boyle County Public Library (Danville, Ky./2000-07), reference librarian at the Kentucky Historical Society (2007-08), and edited twenty-five issues of the Kentucky Historical Society’s genealogical quarterly, Kentucky Ancestors (2008-2013). He has written numerous genealogical articles and Torn: The Civil War in Kentucky (April 2014). Contact Don at [email protected] .

Both images from Kentucky Historical Society Collection