The Wilderness Road - Ft Chiswell, Va
Posted by: 
fatcat161
N 36° 56.912 W 080° 56.045
17S E 505868 N 4089165
Located on the Lee Highway near the intersection of I77 & I 81.
Waymark Code: WM74XH
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 09/02/2009
Views: 13
This marker is part of the Fort Chiswell site marker.
The first great gateway to the west, the route was used by buffalo, the Native American, the longhunter, the Civil War Soldier, and the pioneer... all traveled this route through the mountains into the wilderness of Kentucky. Modern day explorers and travelers stand in awe at this great gateway and the many miles of trails and scenic features
The Wilderness Road was the principal route used by settlers to reach Kentucky for more than fifty years. In 1775, Daniel Boone blazed a trail for the Transylvania Company from Fort Chiswell in Virginia through the Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky.
In 1796, an improved all-weather road was opened for wagon and carriage travel.
Use of the Wilderness Road fell when the National Road was opened in 1818, allowing travel to the Ohio River on level ground from the East. At the same time, the steamboat first appeared on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, allowing travel both up and down the rivers.
Read more (
visit link)
The plaque reads:
The Wilderness Road of colonial days ran near this marker. Prior to 1800 more then 60,000 settlers traveled this road and helped found civilization in southwest-Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
Erected by Wilderness Road Chapter Daughters of the American Reveloution Wytheville, Va.
1924