Historical roads and trails of the United States
Encyclopedia
There are many historic trails and roads in the United States which were important to the settlement and development of the United States
including those used by American Indians
.
The lists below include only those routes in use prior to the creation of the American Highway System in 1926. Many more local routes are discussed at entries for the relevant town.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
including those used by American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
.
The lists below include only those routes in use prior to the creation of the American Highway System in 1926. Many more local routes are discussed at entries for the relevant town.
Settlement routes
- Albany Post RoadAlbany Post RoadThe Albany Post Road was a post road - a road used for mail delivery - in the U.S. state of New York. It connected the cities of New York and Albany along the east side of the Hudson River, a service now performed by US 9.The rough route was as follows:...
from Bowling Green (New York City)Bowling Green (New York City)Bowling Green is a small public park in Lower Manhattan at the foot of Broadway next to the site of the original Dutch fort of New Amsterdam. Built in 1733, originally including a bowling green, it is the oldest public park in New York City and is surrounded by its original 18th century fence. At...
to AlbanyAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, called "BroadwayBroadway (New York City)Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
" for long stretches - Boston Post RoadBoston Post RoadThe Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into the first major highways in the United States.The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York...
or King's HighwayKing's HighwayKing's Highway or Kings Highway may refer to:* King's Highway an ancient trade route from Egypt to Syria* Kings Highway , Australia* King's Highway , United States* King's Highway King's Highway or Kings Highway may refer to:* King's Highway (ancient) an ancient trade route from Egypt to Syria*...
First ride to lay out Post RoadPost roadFor other uses, see Post Road .A post road is a road designated for the transportation of postal mail. In past centuries only major towns had a post house, and the roads used by post riders or mail coaches to carry mail among them were particularly important ones or, due to the special attention...
January 1, 1673. - Bozeman TrailBozeman TrailThe Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868. The flow of pioneers and settlers through territory of American Indians provoked their resentment and caused attacks. The U.S. Army undertook...
from Virginia City, MontanaVirginia City, MontanaVirginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. In 1961, the town and the surrounding area was designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District...
to central WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High... - California RoadCalifornia RoadThe California Road followed the route laid out by Captain Randolph B. Marcy escorting gold seekers during the spring of 1849. Starting from Ft. Smith, Arkansas, it crossed over into Indian Territory and generally followed the Canadian River to the Texas Panhandle...
established 1849, from Fort Smith, ArkansasFort Smith, ArkansasFort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
to CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - California TrailCalifornia TrailThe California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California...
from MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
to California. - Carolina Road from Roanoke, VirginiaRoanoke, VirginiaRoanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
on the Great Wagon Road through the PiedmontPiedmont (United States)The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
to Augusta, GeorgiaAugusta, GeorgiaAugusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
. - Cherokee TrailCherokee TrailThe Cherokee Trail was a historic overland trail through the present-day U.S. states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming that was used from the late 1840s up through the early 1890s. The route was established in 1849 by a wagon train headed to the gold fields in California...
along the Arkansas River from Indian Territory to Wyoming. - Coushatta-Nacogdoches TraceCoushatta-Nacogdoches TraceThe Coushatta-Nacogdoches Trace was a trail used primarily by Coushatta Indians on trips from their village on the Sabine River to Nacogdoches, Texas....
(or Natchitoches) - El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
- Farm HighwayConnecticut Route 108Route 108 in the U.S. state of Connecticut, also called Huntington Turnpike and Nichols Avenue, is a two-lane state highway that runs northerly from US 1, Boston Post Road in Stratford, through Trumbull, to Route 110 in downtown Shelton...
12 rods, or 198 feet (60.4 m) wide highway laid out to Trumbull, ConnecticutTrumbull, ConnecticutTrumbull, a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut in the New England region of the United States, is bordered by the towns of Monroe, Shelton, Stratford, Bridgeport, Fairfield and Easton along Connecticut's Gold Coast. The population was 36,018 according to the 2010 census.Family Circle magazine...
December 7, 1696. - Federal Road (Cherokee lands)Federal Road (Cherokee lands)The Federal Road, originally called Georgia Road, was a federal toll highway passing through the Cherokee Nation in the northern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. From 1805 to the 1840s, the road linked Savannah, Georgia with Knoxville, Tennessee...
from AthensAthens, GeorgiaAthens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
to ChattanoogaChattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
and KnoxvilleKnoxville, TennesseeFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area... - Federal Road (Creek lands)Federal Road (Creek lands)The Federal Road was a project that started in 1805 when the Creek Indians gave a permission for the development of a "horse path" through their nation for more efficient mail delivery between Washington City and New Orleans, Louisiana....
from Fort Wilkinson (close to Milledgeville, GeorgiaMilledgeville, GeorgiaMilledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon, located just before Eatonton on the way to Athens along U.S. Highway 441, and it is located on the Oconee River. The relatively rapid current of the Oconee here made this an...
to Fort StoddertFort StoddertFort Stoddert was a stockade fort in the Mississippi Territory, in what is today Alabama. It was located on a bluff of the Mobile River, near modern Mount Vernon, close to the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers. It served as the western terminus of the Federal Road which ran through...
(close to Mobile, AlabamaMobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
) - Forbes RoadForbes RoadThe Forbes Road was a historic military roadway in what was then British America, that was constructed in 1758 from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to the French Fort Duquesne at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh...
established 1759, from Fort PittFort Pitt (Pennsylvania)Fort Pitt was a fort built at the location of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.-French and Indian War:The fort was built from 1759 to 1761 during the French and Indian War , next to the site of former Fort Duquesne, at the confluence the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River...
, Pennsylvania to Fort Bedford, PennsylvaniaBedford, PennsylvaniaBedford is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west of the State Capital, Harrisburg. It is the county seat of Bedford County. Bedford was established in the mid-18th century. Population counts follow: 1890, 2,242; 1900, 2,167; 1910, 2,385. The population was 3,141 at the 2000... - Gaines TraceGaines TraceThe Gaines Trace was a road in the Mississippi Territory. It was constructed in 1811 and 1812 from the Tennessee River to Cotton Gin Port on the upper Tombigbee River and on to Fort Stoddert on the lower Tombigbee. The portion from the Tennessee River to Cotton Gin Port was surveyed in 1807 and...
in the Mississippi TerritoryMississippi TerritoryThe Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Mississippi....
from near Muscle ShoalsMuscle Shoals, AlabamaMuscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
on the Tennessee RiverTennessee RiverThe Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
to Cotton Gin PortCotton Gin Port, MississippiCotton Gin Port is a ghost town in Monroe County, Mississippi, United States.-Geography:Cotton Gin Port was located at on the east bank of the Tombigbee river.-History:...
on the upper Tombigbee RiverTombigbee RiverThe Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. It is one of two major rivers, along with the Alabama River, that unite to form the short Mobile River before it empties into Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico...
and on to Fort StoddertFort StoddertFort Stoddert was a stockade fort in the Mississippi Territory, in what is today Alabama. It was located on a bluff of the Mobile River, near modern Mount Vernon, close to the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers. It served as the western terminus of the Federal Road which ran through...
on the lower Tombigbee - Great Wagon RoadGreat Wagon RoadThe Great Wagon Road was a colonial American improved trail transiting the Great Appalachian Valley from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, and from there to Georgia....
(Pennsylvania Wagon Road) from PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788... - Jackson's Military RoadJackson's Military RoadJackson's Military Road was a route from Nashville, Tennessee to New Orleans, Louisiana. After the War of 1812, it was improved with federal funds, and it was named after Andrew Jackson.-Construction:...
from Nashville to New Orleans - Kittanning PathKittanning PathThe Kittanning Path was a major east-westNative American trail in western Pennsylvania used during the 18th century. It provided an overland route for the Lenape, Shawnee, and early European settlers across the Allegheny Mountains, terminating at its western end on the Allegheny River at the Native...
from Frankstown, Pennsylvania through the AlleghenysAllegheny MountainsThe Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
to Kittanning, PennsylvaniaKittanning, PennsylvaniaKittanning is a borough and the county seat of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is situated northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Allegheny River. The name means "at the great stream" in the Delaware language... - Mormon TrailMormon TrailThe Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868...
- Natchez TraceNatchez TraceThe Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historical path that extends roughly from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers...
- National RoadNational RoadThe National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...
(Cumberland Road) - Oregon TrailOregon TrailThe Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
- Old Spanish TrailOld Spanish Trail (trade route)The Old Spanish Trail is a historical trade route which connected the northern New Mexico settlements near or in Santa Fe, New Mexico with that of Los Angeles, California and southern California. Approximately long, it ran through areas of high mountains, arid deserts, and deep canyons. It is...
from Santa Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
to southern CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - Old Wire RoadOld Wire RoadThe Old Wire Road is a historic road in Missouri and Arkansas. Several local roads are still called this. It followed an old Native American route, the Great Osage Trail across the Ozarks and became a road along a telegraph line from St. Louis, Missouri to Fort Smith, Arkansas. This route was...
, from St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
to Fort Smith, ArkansasFort Smith, ArkansasFort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas... - Ozark Trail
- Santa Fe TrailSanta Fe TrailThe Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...
- Siskiyou TrailSiskiyou TrailThe Siskiyou Trail stretched from California's Central Valley to Oregon's Willamette Valley; modern-day Interstate 5 follows this pioneer path...
- Wilderness RoadWilderness RoadThe Wilderness Road was the principal route used by settlers for more than fifty years to reach Kentucky from the East. In 1775, Daniel Boone blazed a trail for the Transylvania Company from Fort Chiswell in Virginia through the Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky. It was later lengthened,...
(Wilderness Trail) scouted by Daniel BooneDaniel BooneDaniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
from the Shenandoah ValleyShenandoah ValleyThe Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
through the Cumberland GapCumberland GapCumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
to the Ohio RiverOhio RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
Indian routes
- Catawba Path
- Great Warrior Road
- Tuscarora Path
- Coushatta Trace
- Coushatta-Nacogdoches TraceCoushatta-Nacogdoches TraceThe Coushatta-Nacogdoches Trace was a trail used primarily by Coushatta Indians on trips from their village on the Sabine River to Nacogdoches, Texas....
Mail and passenger routes
- Butterfield Overland Stage RouteButterfield Overland MailThe Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
(1858–1869) St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
to San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland... - Pony Express RoutePony ExpressThe Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
(1860–1862) Saint Joseph, MissouriSaint Joseph, MissouriSaint Joseph is the second largest city in northwest Missouri, only second to Kansas City in size, serving as the county seat for Buchanan County. As of the 2010 census, Saint Joseph had a total population of 76,780, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The St...
to Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
Gaps and passes
- Cumberland GapCumberland GapCumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
- Delaware Water GapDelaware Water GapThe Delaware Water Gap is on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains...
- Donner PassDonner PassDonner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, located above Donner Lake about nine miles west of Truckee, California. It has a steep approach from the east and a gradual approach from the west....
- Glorieta PassGlorieta PassGlorieta Pass is a high mountain pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. The pass is at a strategic location near at the southern end of the Sangre de Cristos in east central Santa Fe County southeast of the city of Santa Fe.Historically, the pass provided the most direct...
- Kittanning GapKittanning GapKittanning Gap is a gap at the summit of Allegheny Ridge in central Pennsylvania in the United States. It is located in Logan Township, approximately 5 mi west of Altoona.-History:...
- Raton PassRaton PassRaton Pass is a mountain pass on the Santa Fe Trail along the Colorado-New Mexico border in the United States. Raton Pass is a federally designated National Historic Landmark...
- South PassSouth PassSouth Pass is two mountain passes on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. The passes are located in a broad low region, 35 miles broad, between the Wind River Range to the north and the Oregon Buttes and Great Divide Basin to the south, in southwestern Fremont...
Cattle trails
- Abilene TrailAbilene TrailThe Abilene Trail was a cattle trail leading from Texas to Abilene, Kansas. Its exact route is disputed owing to its many offshoots, but it crossed the Red River just east of Henrietta, Texas, and continued north across the Indian Territory to Caldwell, Kansas and on past Wichita and Newton to...
- Chisholm TrailChisholm TrailThe Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the late 19th century to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The portion of the trail marked by Jesse Chisholm went from his southern trading post near the Red River, to his northern trading post near Kansas City, Kansas...
- Goodnight-Loving Trail
- Texas RoadTexas RoadThe Texas Road, also known as the Shawnee Trail, was a major trade and emigrant route across Texas, Indian Territory Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. It was the first Texas North South Cattle Drive...
(Shawnee Trail) - Western Cattle Trail
- Western Trail (Dodge City or Ogallala Trail)
See also
- Lincoln HighwayLincoln HighwayThe Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
- Route 66U.S. Route 66U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...
- National Auto TrailNational auto trailThe system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on telephone poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in the early days of the automobile.Auto trails were...
- Potawatomi Trail of DeathPotawatomi Trail of DeathThe Potawatomi Trail of Death was the forced removal by United States forces from September 4 to November 4, 1838, of 859 members of the Potawatomi nation from Twin Lakes near Plymouth, Indiana, to the location of present-day Osawatomie, Kansas, a distance of . Typhoid fever and the stress of the...
- State wildlife trails (United States)State wildlife trails (United States)State wildlife trails in the United States are state-sponsored systems of hiking and driving trails developed for the benefit of birdwatching and wildlife enthusiasts. They have been created and maintained by state governments or other state-level entities, both to promote ecology and to promote...
- Trail of TearsTrail of TearsThe Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
- TurnpikeToll roadA toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...