Footpaths & Waterways

Footpaths and Waterways. . , Paths and trails wave their way through dense forests as the hooves of deer and bison left their mark in the earth in search of food and water. Eventually, these paths gave way to the soft patter of human feet) as they became used by local tribes such as the Delaware, Shawnee, or the Wyandot to travel between settlements and villages like Wakatomika near Dresden, Raccoon Town near Johnstown, or King Beaver's Town near Pickerington., Many of these paths crisscrossed Licking County and connected to larger routes throughout Ohio. When the tough terrain made it hard to travel over land, canoes made of oal, elm, or tulip trees might have been used to glide along the back of the Nepepenime Sepe or its tributaries. These transportation routes were later used by European settlers and even provided the basis for some of the roads and highways used today., 1751 , Christopher Gist traveled these routes during his exploration of the region in 1751., Many major routes ran between bodies of water, , such as Lake Erie and the Ohio River. One such route connected the village of Wakatomika to the Big Swamp, which was later enlarged to become Buckeye Lake., Some of Licking County's footpaths and trails were documented in the journals of Christopher Gist. He traveled these routes during his exploration of the region in 1751., Did you know? , The Licking River is named for salt licks. , The Shawnee people, who inhabited Licking County, called the river Nepepenime Sepe (Nep-ep-ay-nee-may Sep-ay), which meant Salt River.