Americas First West

Americas First West. "Spread out before us lay the finest body of land in the world.". Imagine... Standing on this spot in 1770. , You are a British citizen, and George III is king. , You and a few hundred others are the only non-Native Americans exploring the uncharted lands of Kentucke (as it is known) west of the Appalachian Mountains. You may be a "long hunter", spending many months in the frontier before returning home. Occasionally, you write about the fertile land, abundant wildlife and weather. But your observations can only be delivered back east in person, by you. , The First American West: , Kentucky from 1750 through 1800 , In the 18th century, the best way to show the great expanse of the continent was through maps like this 1758 print (right) of the "Middle British Colonies in North America". Dense notes cover the drawing from the Atlantic to the mountains, but further west, empty paper revealed that much less was certain. , Beyond the known areas of Virginia lay "A vein of mountains about 30 or 40 miles right across where there is not yet any occupied path in these parts". , Kentucky is at the bottom left edge of the map, and "The Falls” on the Ohio River became the site of Louisville. This land offered a new frontier to explorers, adventurers and land seekers. It was America's first West. , An expedition into southeast Kentucky in 1750 led by Dr. Thomas Walker, crossed the mountains through the Cumberland Gap - roughly where Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee now meet. One year later, Christoper Gist ventured within a few miles of where you stand and declared... , "All the land that we passed over today is like a Paradise it is so good and Beautiful!" , Photo captions: , Above: "Middle British Colonies in America” 1758. (LOC) , Right: By the time Kentucky gains statehood in 1793, its geography is well known. "Map of Kentucky” by Elihu Barker, 1795. (LOC) , Left: The first explorers traveled paths worn by buffalo along a course of least resistance. The trails connected salt licks, meadows and water. , Today, dry laid limestone fences shoulder Old Frankfort Pike where the road bed rests several feet below the land on either side, indicating a place where the alignment follows a buffalo trail or "trace".