Cheshire in Gallia County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Grandma Gatewood

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 31, 2018

1. Grandma Gatewood Side of Marker

Inscription.
Grandma Gatewood. In 1953, at the age of 67, Emma Rowena “Grandma” Gatewood became the first woman to hike the 2,050 mile Appalachian Trail alone and in one season. The Gallia County, Ohio resident hiked the Appalachian Trail again in 1957 and 1964, becoming the first to walk its length three times. In 1959, she hiked the Oregon Trail, from Independence, Missouri to Portland, Oregon. She was a founder of the Buckeye Trail and life member of the Buckeye Trail Association, which named a part of the trail after her. Grandma Gatewood was born in 1887 on a farm near Mercerville, one of 15 children, and died in 1973 at the age of 85, the mother of 11 and “grandma” to many more. She was inducted into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame in 2012.

The Reward of Nature
by Emma “Grandma” Gatewood
If you will go with me to the mountains
And sleep on the leaf carpeted floors
And enjoy the bigness of nature
And the beauty of all out of doors,
You’ll find your troubles all fading
And feel the Creator was not man
That made lovely mountains and forests
Which only a Supreme Power can.

When we

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trust in the power above
And with the realm of nature hold fast,
We will have a jewel of great price
To brighten our lives till the last.

For the love of nature is healing,
If we will only give it a try
And the reward will be forthcoming,
If we go deeper than what meets the eye.

Erected 2016 by Village of Cheshire, Buckeye Trail Association, and The Ohio History Connection. (Marker Number 21-27.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Parks & Recreational Areas • Roads & Vehicles • Women. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 4, 1973.

Location. 38° 56.693′ N, 82° 6.625′ W. Marker is in Cheshire, Ohio, in Gallia County. Marker is at the intersection of Main Street and North Locust Street, on the left when traveling east on Main Street. It is a Cheshire Village Park which is on the edge of the Ohio River. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cheshire OH 45620, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. “Mark Twain” Family (approx. 1½ miles away

The Reward of Nature Side of Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 31, 2018

2. The Reward of Nature Side of Marker

in West Virginia); John Hall (approx. 2 miles away in West Virginia); Fort Robinson (approx. 2.2 miles away in West Virginia); Rear Admiral Arthur Clark (approx. 4.9 miles away); Kellian V. Whaley (approx. 5.1 miles away in West Virginia); General James V. Hartinger (approx. 5.1 miles away); Middleport Medal of Honor Recipients (approx. 5.1 miles away); The Ohio River / Historic Middleport (approx. 5.2 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. Grandma Gatewood’s Walk - The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. 2014 book by Ben Montgomery. “Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes and less than two hundred dollars. The next time anybody heard from her, this genteel, farm-reared, 67-year-old great-grandmother had walked 800 miles along the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail. And in September 1955, having survived a rattlesnake strike, two hurricanes, and a run-in with gangsters from Harlem, she stood atop Maine’s

Grandma Gatewood Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 12, 2018

3. Grandma Gatewood Marker

Mount Katahdin. There she sang the first verse of ‘America, the Beautiful’ and proclaimed, ‘I said I’ll do it, and I’ve done it.’” (Submitted on September 3, 2018.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.

2. Wikipedia entry for Grandma Gatewood. “She wore Converse sneakers and carried an army blanket, a raincoat, and a plastic shower curtain in a homemade denim bag slung over one shoulder. She would later say ‘For some fool reason, they always lead you right up over the biggest rock to the top of the biggest mountain they can find.’” (Submitted on September 3, 2018.)

3. Three minute video first person narrative in Emma Gatewood’s words. Based on her journals and diary. (Submitted on September 3, 2018.)

Emma Gatewood image. Click for full size.

By Stratness via Wikipedia Commons

4. Emma Gatewood

Grandma Gatewood image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, April 15, 2024

5. Grandma Gatewood

This portrait is displayed in the Hocking Hills Park Visitors Center near Logan, Ohio.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 16, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 2, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,542 times since then and 81 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 2, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3, 4. submitted on September 3, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 5. submitted on April 16, 2024, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.