Near Middlesboro in Bell County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)
Warriors' Path
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
September 28, 2022
1. Warriors' Path Marker
Before trucks and cars in the 1900s, before steam locomotives in the 1800s, before long-hunters' packhorses in the 1700s, there was long-distance traffic crossing the Gapon footgoing both north and south. No one knows how many centuries Indians used a wide game trail, similar to the one you see before you, to ascend this important pass.
The first Englishman known to have walked over Cumberland Gap was backwoods trader Gabriel Arthur, a 1674 captive of the Shawnee. Both Dr. Thomas Walker (1750) and Daniel Boone (1769) explored Kentucky by following the already existing Warriors' Path north.
Athiamiowee
One hundred miles to the south in the foothills of the Great Smokies lay the principal towns of the Cherokee. One hundred-fifty miles to the north, where the Scioto River joins the Ohio, lay the principal towns of the Shawnee. Bitter enemies over many generations, these two tribes regularly attacked each other.
To reach the enemies' home ground, both Cherokee and Shawnee traveled one of the best-known long-range trails crossing the Appalachians. Shawnee called the trail Athiamiowee. English-speakers in the 1750s began calling it the Warriors' Path.
Erected by National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical
this page online
Location. 36° 36.517′ N, 83° 40.728′ W. Marker is near Middlesboro, Kentucky, in Bell County. It can be reached from Thomas Walker Trail 0.2 miles east of Pinnacle View Road, on the right when traveling east. Marker is a wayside exhibit on the Wilderness Road Trail near its intersection with the Thomas Walker Trail, which is most readily accessible from the Thomas Walker Parking Area. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Middlesboro KY 40965, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Kentucky and in the Cumberland Plateau. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: An Object Lesson Road (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Two-Way Traffic (about 300 feet away); Cumberland Gap / Grant Visits Cumberland Gap (about 400 feet away); A Masterful Retreat (about 400 feet away); Forts and Batteries, North and South (approx. Ό mile away); Two Armies, One Railroad (approx. Ό mile away); a different marker also named An Object Lesson Road (approx. Ό mile away); Wilderness Road (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Middlesboro.
Other markers no longer
September 28, 2022
2. Warriors' Path Marker
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This is a related, nearby marker.
September 30, 2022
3. Thomas Walker Trail marker
This carved wood trail marker is at the eastern terminus of the Thomas Walker Trail and visible from the Thomas Walker Parking Area. Follow this trail about 100 yards to its intersection with the Wilderness Road Trail to find the wayside exhibit.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 8, 2022. This page has been viewed 570 times since then and 40 times this year. Last updated on October 12, 2022. It was the Marker of the Week November 16, 2025. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 8, 2022. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
