The Virginia Frontier

The Virginia Frontier. . , The Virginia Frontier , African, English, Scots-Irish, German, American Indian and other groups met on the Virginia frontier. They were brought here by global forces beyond their control. The struggles, cooperation, and conflicts they experienced created a unique frontier culture. The frontier experience is a vital element of the broader American experience which shaped a distinct American identity. Elements of these cultures remain clearly visible among the foundations of American identity today., Where Was the Virginia Frontier? , The Virginia Frontier began at the Blue Ridge, includes the Great Valley of Virginia, and encompasses much of the Appalachian Mountains, including what is now Kentucky and West Virginia, and stretches north to the Ohio River. In the early 18th century, British and colonial officials encouraged settlement of lands west of the Blue Ridge Mountains to defend the colony against Indian attack and French expansion. These settlements would also deter runaway slaves seeking to establish independent communities in the Appalachians., When Was This Region a Frontier? , Diverse American Indian groups lived in this area long before Europeans arrived. Starting in the 1670s, Europeans started to explore western Virginia past the Blue Ridge Mountains. They were often accompanied by enslaved Africans. When Europeans started settling here in the 1720s, western Virginia became a frontier of European westward expansion. The region was no longer a frontier by the end of the 18th century when large numbers of settlers had turned the area from scattered, rough land plots into prosperous farmsteads.