- Great Trail
The Great Trail (also called the Great Path) was a network of
footpath s created by Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking peoples prior to the arrival ofEurope ancolonists inNorth America . It connected theGreat Lakes region ofCanada toNew England and the mid-Atlantic. Many major highways in theNortheastern United States follow the routes set down centuries ago by Native Americans moving along these trailsSome sections of the trail have been called "
warpath s", such as the so-called "Great Indian Warpath" throughChillicothe, Ohio . The primary purposes for these roads waspeace fultrade ,hunting , and gathering ofnatural resource s along their routes. [ [http://www.oldeforester.com/GreatTrail.htm "Indian Paths of Pennsylvania" by Paul Wallace] ]Some sources describe the Great Trail as beginning at one point or another. However, as there was a gradation between local trails used by few people and more major routes used by many, identifying a point at which the Great Trail begins or ends is an arbitrary matter. The Great Trail system connected with the
Overland Trail which led west as well as other trails to other parts of thecontinent .One part of the Great Trail system stretched from
Passamaquoddy territory in northernmostNew England through the Lakes Region ofNew Hampshire and down to theShawmut Peninsula inMassachusetts . From there it stretched down to the region of theWampanoag ofCape Cod , and over to the territory of theNipmuck and other tribes aroundLake Chaubunagungamaug before connecting toConnecticut and points farther south. [ [http://www.websterlakeassociation.com/Environmental%20Issues/Landsscape%20Planning%20Study%20of%20Webster%20Ma%20by%20U%20Mass.pdf Landscape Planning Study] ]Another part of the Great Trail system in New England corresponds to
Massachusetts Route 2 and leads fromBoston toupstate New York . The section now known as theMohawk Trail (used by tribes such as the Mohawk andPocomtuc ) leads from theConnecticut River through theBerkshires andMohawk Trail State Forest into the area of the present day state-capitol ofAlbany, New York . From here, the Great Trail system connected all parts of the territories in which members of theIroquois Confederacy dwelled. [ [http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=186431 The Mohawk Trail] ] [ [http://www.dickshovel.com/pocu.html Pocumtuc history] ]In northern New Jersey, the portion of the Great Trail much-used by the
Lenape included choice places to cross thePassaic River and to pass through the valleys among theWatchung Mountains . As the Dutch advanced beyond the proximity of theHudson River , the new settlers found these paths crucial to their movement.New Jersey Route 24 corresponds to a branch of the trail in this area.A more southern part of the Great Trail system went from
Delaware acrossPennsylvania toOldtown, Maryland , and then to theOhio River belowPittsburgh . It crossed Columbiana County to Bolivar and Sandusky and then continued west. The part of the Great Trail used byColonial America n troops duringPontiac's Rebellion now corresponds toU.S. Route 23 . [ [http://www.oldeforester.com/GreatTrail.htm "Indian Paths of Pennsylvania" by Paul Wallace] ]As with deer fields created by Native Americans, the Great Trail demonstrated that parts of
North America , rather than being the "untouched wilderness" described by early colonists, were regions land managed by the indigenous inhabitants to serve the needs of their society. ["There’s More Than Rocks, Trees, and Streams In The Woods: An ACQTC Guide for Friends of the Quinnipiac to the Great Trail System of Connecticut", ACQTC Publications 1999)]References
Bibliography
*Ayres, Harral, "The Great Trail of New England". Boston, MA: Meader Publishing Co. (1940)
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