The Appalachian Warriors' Path (1607-1744) was used by the Iroquois of the north to head south for trade or make war in Virginia and the Carolinas. The English acquired the Warriors' Path through treaties. Known as the Philadelphia Wagon Road (1744-1774); also as the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road, Great Road, etc., immigrants used this road to enter the back country and often branched off onto the Wilderness Road to move further west.

Identifies important overland wagon roads used by Americans from about 1735-1815.

This account of the settlement of one segment of the North Carolina frontier -- the land between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers -- examines the process by which the piedmont South was populated. Through its ingenious use of hundreds of sources and documents, Robert Ramsey traces the movement of the original settlers and their families from the time they stepped onto American shores to their final settlement in the northwest Carolina territory. He considers the economic, religious, social, and geographical influences that led the settlers to Rowan County and describes how this frontier community was organized and supervised.

In 1752 an enslaved Pennsylvania ironworker named Ned purchased his freedom and moved to Virginia on the upper James River. Taking the name Edward Tarr, he became the first free black landowner west of the Blue Ridge. Tarr established a blacksmith shop on the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia to the Carolinas and helped found a Presbyterian congregation that exists to this day. Living with him was his white, Scottish wife, and in a twist that will surprise the modern reader, Tarr’s neighbors accepted his interracial marriage. It was when a second white woman joined the household that some protested. Tarr’s already dramatic story took a perilous turn when the predatory son of his last master, a Charleston merchant, abruptly entered his life in a fraudulent effort to reenslave him. His fate suddenly hinged on his neighbors, who were all that stood between Tarr and a return to the life of a slave. This remarkable true story serves as a keyhole narrative, unlocking a new, more complex understanding of race relations on the American frontier. The vividly drawn portraits of Tarr and the women with whom he lived, along with a rich set of supporting characters in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia, provide fascinating insight into the journey from slavery to freedom, as well as the challenges of establishing frontier societies. The story also sheds light on the colonial merchant class, Indian warfare in southwest Virginia, and slavery’s advent west of the Blue Ridge. Contradicting the popular view of settlers in southern Virginia as poor, violent, and transient, this book--with its pathbreaking research and gripping narrative--radically rewrites the history of the colonial backcountry, revealing it to be made up largely of close-knit, rigorously governed communities.

This account of the first president’s trip to unite a young America “follows Washington’s travels day-by-day with detailed information about each stop” (Daily Herald). Newly elected president George Washington set out to visit the new nation aware that he was the singular unifying figure in America. The journey’s finale was the Southern Tour, begun in March 1791. The long and arduous trek from the capital, Philadelphia, passed through seven states and the future Washington, DC. But the focus was on Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. The president kept a rigorous schedule, enduring rugged roads and hazardous water crossings. His highly anticipated arrival in each destination was a community celebration with countless teas, parades, dinners, and dances. Author Warren Bingham reveals the history and lore of the most beloved American president and his survey of the newly formed southern United States. Includes photos

The Great Valley Road of Virginia chronicles the story of one of America's oldest, most historic, and most geographically significant roads. Emphasized throughout the chapters is a concern for landscape character and the connection of the land to the people who traveled the road and to permanent residents, who depended upon it for their livelihoods. Also included are chapters about the towns supported by the road as well as the relationship of physical geography (the lay of the land) to the engineering of the road. More than one hundred maps, photographs, engravings, and line drawings enhance the book's value to scholars and general readers alike. Published in association with the Center for American Places