Historic trails and roads in the United States
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.
Settlement routes
- Albany Post Road from Bowling Green (New York City) to Albany, called "Broadway" for long stretches
- Boston Post Road or King's Highway First ride to lay out Post Road January 1, 1673.[1]
- Bozeman Trail from Virginia City, Montana to central Wyoming
- California Road established 1849, from Fort Smith, Arkansas to California
- California Trail from Missouri to California.
- Carolina Road from Roanoke, Virginia on the Great Wagon Road through the Piedmont to Augusta, Georgia.
- Cherokee Trail along the Arkansas River from Indian Territory to Wyoming.
- Coushatta-Nacogdoches Trace (or Natchitoches)
- El Camino Real (California)
- El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
- El Camino Viejo
- Farm Highway completed 1696, from Boston Post Road Stratford, Connecticut to Nichols, Connecticut.[2]
- Federal Road (Cherokee lands) from Athens, Georgia to Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee
- Federal Road (Creek lands) from Fort Wilkinson (close to Milledgeville, Georgia to Fort Stoddert (close to Mobile, Alabama)
- Forbes Road established 1759, from Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania to Fort Bedford, Pennsylvania
- Gaines Trace in the Mississippi Territory from near Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River to Cotton Gin Port on the upper Tombigbee River and on to Fort Stoddert on the lower Tombigbee
- Great Wagon Road (Pennsylvania Wagon Road) from Pennsylvania to Georgia
- Jackson's Military Road from Nashville to New Orleans
- Kittanning Path from Frankstown, Pennsylvania through the Alleghenys to Kittanning, Pennsylvania
- Mormon Trail
- Mullan Road from Fort Benton, Montana to Walla Walla, Washington
- Natchez Trace
- National Road (Cumberland Road)
- Oregon Trail
- Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe, New Mexico to southern California
- Old Wire Road, from St. Louis, Missouri to Fort Smith, Arkansas
- Ozark Trail
- Salt Lake Road from Salt Lake City to Southern California
- San Antonio-El Paso Road
- Santa Fe Trail
- Siskiyou Trail
- Southern Emigrant Trail
- Southwest Trail, from St. Louis, Missouri to Texarkana, Texas
- Stockton - Los Angeles Road
- Wilderness Road (Wilderness Trail) scouted by Daniel Boone from the Shenandoah Valley through the Cumberland Gap to the Ohio River
Indian routes
- Catawba Path
- Coushatta Trace
- Coushatta-Nacogdoches Trace
- Great Warrior Road
- Natchitoches Trace, from Missouri River's mouth to Natchitoches, Louisiana
- Tuscarora Path
Mail and passenger routes
- San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line (1857-1861) San Antonio, Texas to San Diego, California
- Butterfield Overland Stage Route (1858–1861) St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco, California
- Pony Express Route (1860–1862) Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California
- Central Overland Route (1861-1869)
Gaps and passes
- Apache Pass
- Cumberland Gap
- Cooke's Pass, Massacre Canyon
- Dead Mans Pass
- Delaware Water Gap
- Donner Pass
- Glorieta Pass
- Kittanning Gap
- Lemhi Pass
- Lolo Pass
- Monida Pass
- Raton Pass
- South Pass
- Warner Pass
Minor routes
- San Antonio Trace
- Trammel's Trace
- Phillip Nolan's Trace
Cattle trails
- Abilene Trail
- Chisholm Trail
- Goodnight-Loving Trail
- Texas Road (Shawnee Trail)
- Western Cattle Trail
- Western Trail (Dodge City or Ogallala Trail)
Early motor routes
The Good Roads Movement established in May 1860 agitated for better roads for bicyclists. At the turn of the 20th Century, interest in the bicycle began to wane in the face of increasing interest in automobiles. In 1913 the Lincoln Highway Association was formed to plan and promote and sign a highway suitable for automobiles using existing roads from Times Square in New York City to San Francisco, California. This was a success and was followed by the development of named auto trails throughout North America. Most of these were subsequently been converted to numbered Interstate highways.
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, January 1917, Vol. 50, page 386,
- ↑ A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Reverend Samuel Orcutt, Fairfield County Historical Society, 1886, Vol. II, page 1039
External links
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