An Atlas of Southern Trails to the Mississippi

An Atlas of Southern Trails to the Mississippi; by Carrie Eldridge; Published: 1999; 17x11; vi+41 pp; Soft Cover; Item # CE02

Religion, politics, and economics along with, in some cases, and healthy sense of discovery and exploration drove people to the New World. Those same factors drove people, from the earliest colonial days, to move ever westward. Standing between the early American colonies and the majority of the continent were the Appalachians. The entire mountainous region was thick with tree and undergrowth, hillsides and rivers, breached only by the game trails of buffalo and game. Settlers first conquered the region by foot and on horseback. Later, expanded trails allowed wagons to pass from the east into Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Cumberland River valleys. In all, it took 150 years to reach and settle the Ohio River. Another 75 years saw settlement up to the Mississippi. In 225 years from the first colony in 1625, European settlers has pushed and settled their way to the Mississippi, a distance of roughly 1,000 miles. Then California gold was discovered in 1849. In just six months, the remaining 2,000 miles from the Mississippi to the Pacific ocean was settled, with roads and wagon trails cut almost literally overnight.

The atlas provides a pleasurable mix of history overview with details on how animal paths and Indian trails became major thoroughfares for westward heading settlers. At 11″ x 17″ this Atlas offers maps at a size which are easy to read. With two columns per text page, each the size of a standard page, this book is the equivalent to a book twice as thick. Below are the Table of Contents followed by a listing of the Maps and Illustrations in the order in which they appear in the book.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Animal Paths to Pioneer Trails

North American Settlement

Nature’s Direction West by Southwest

Indians and the Land

Trails of the South

Carolina Settlement Prior to the Revolution

Western Problems

Patterns of Western Settlement After the Revolution

War and Necessity Demand Roads

Mississippi Gateway

Conclusion

Appendix A: Southern Pioneer Roads of Importance

Bibliography

Maps and Illustrations

Figure 1. Principle Indian Paths of the East

Figure 2. European Influence 1750

Figure 3. Early Colonial Transportation

Figure 4. Physical Features of the Southeast

Figure 5. Areas of Indian Control

Figure 6. Trails of the Southeast

Figure 7. Appalachian Trails to 1776

Figure 8. Pioneer Destinations North Carolina 1750-1799

Figure 9. South Carolina’s Frontier

Figure 10. Early Tennessee Settlements

Figure 11. Maryland Gazette – 1786

Figure 12. Maryland Gazette – 1789

Figure 13. Pioneer Destinations Land Grants and Colonies

Figure 14. Virginia Grant

Figure 15. Georgia’s 2nd Yazoo Companies

Figure 16. Pioneer Destinations Military Reserves 1778-1816

Figure 17. Georgia’s Western Expansion

Figure 18. Military Road of 1812

Figure 19. Beyond the Mississippi

Figure 20. Frontier Trails 1815

Figure 21. Indian Trails to Interstates