Daniel Boone's Trail - Middlesboro, KY - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

The pyramid shaped monument commemorates the Daniel Boone Trail. Donated by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1915 from chapters in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina, it was originally built as a pedestal to mount a statue of Daniel Boone that never materialized. The monument was in disrepair and one of the markers had been broken and removed for several years. In recent times the D.A.R. located the missing marker and repaired the monument. Each state organization dedicated a plaque mounted on respective sides of the memorial but only two of them have agreeable information. The Kentucky Daughters plaque says, Daniel Boone's Trail from North Carolina to Kentucky 1775; the Tennessee Chapter says, Daniel Boone's Trail from North Carolina to Kentucky 1769. The 1775 date is the correct date for the marking of Boone's Trace and the 1769 date would correlate with the period Boone was on his hunting trips in Kentucky scouting out the great wilderness. The Virginian's statement is also correct in that the Trace did definitely pass through their state. It is remarkable that there would be three different interpretations on the same memorial, but these distractions of the true story of Daniel Boone are a part of his legend. (The Cumberland Gap Area Guidebook)

Road of Trail Name: Daniel Boone’s Trail State: Kentucky County: Bell Historical Significance: Known as the Wilderness Road, the trail would serve as the pathway to the western United States for some 300,000 settlers over the next 35 years. Boone’s pioneering path led to the establishment of the first settlements in Kentucky–including Boonesboro–and to Kentucky’s admission to the Union as the 15th state in 1792. Years in use: 35 How you discovered it: It is taught in grade school in Kentucky History class. Book on Wagon Road or Trial: The Cumberland Gap Area Guidebook Website Explination: https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/wilderness-road Why?: It opened up a path through the Appalachian Mountains to help settlers head west. In addition to its human traffic, the trail provided a route for farm produce intended for sale in markets closer to the coast, as well as goods and supplies to supply the growing western settlements. Directions: Marker is on Wilderness Road Trail. Marker is on a stone monument near the intersection of Wilderness Road and Tri-State trails in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.

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