The Great Shamokin Path (also known as the "Shamokin Path") was a major
Native American trail in the
U.S. State of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
that ran from the native village of
Shamokin (modern-day
Sunbury) along the left bank of the
West Branch Susquehanna River north and then west to the Great Island (near modern-day
Lock Haven). There it left the river and continued further west to
Chinklacamoose Chinklacamoose, spelled many ways, was an old Native American village located at what is now Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The village existed from the early 1st century until around the mid to late 17th century. The village was about halfway along t ...
(what is now the borough of
Clearfield) and finally
Kittanning on the
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into New York then i ...
.
The Great Shamokin Path connected settlements along the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
with those on the Allegheny River (and the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...
downstream of Kittanning). For several decades in the early 18th century, the villages of Shamokin and Kittanning were two of the most important Native American villages in Pennsylvania. The colonists recorded the path as used by
Moravian Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
Ettwein and his group of some 200
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
and
Mohican Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
in 1772. They traveled west along the path from their village of Friedenshütten (''Cabins of Peace'') near modern
Wyalusing on the North Branch of the Susquehanna to their new village of Friedensstadt (''City of Peace'') on the
Beaver River in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Today a long
rail trail
A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetc ...
in
Armstrong County follows a short portion of the Great Shamokin Path, and the former course of the Rural Valley Railroad.