The Great Trail (also called the Great Path) was a network of

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...

s created by Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking indigenous peoples prior to the arrival of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

colonists A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. It connected the areas of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and eastern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and the mid-Atlantic regions to each other and to the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

region. Many major highways in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

were later constructed to follow the routes established thousands of years ago by Native Americans moving along these trails. Although some sections of the trail have been called "warpaths", such as the so-called " Great Indian Warpath" through Chillicothe, Ohio,Paul Wallace, ''Indian Paths of Pennsylvania''
Old Forester the primary purposes for these roads was

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ful

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

, and gathering of natural resources along their routes. 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 the

continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...

. One part of the Great Trail system stretched from Passamaquoddy territory in northernmost

through the Lakes Region of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and down to the Shawmut Peninsula in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. From there it connected to the region of the Wampanoag of Cape Cod, and over to the territory of the Nipmuck and other tribes around Lake Chaubunagungamaug before connecting to areas of present-day

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and points farther south. Another part of the Great Trail system in New England was later followed by Massachusetts Route 2; it leads from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to upstate New York. The section now known as the Mohawk Trail (used by tribes such as the Mohawk and Pocomtuc) leads from the Connecticut River valley through the Berkshires and Mohawk Trail State Forest into the area of present-day

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, the state capital. From here, the Great Trail system connected all parts of the territories where the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy lived. In northern New Jersey, the portion of the Great Trail much-used by the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

included choice places to cross the Passaic River and to pass through the valleys among the Watchung Mountains, notably at Hobart Gap. As the Dutch colonists advanced beyond the proximity of the Hudson River, the new settlers found these paths crucial to their movement. New Jersey Route 24 generally follows a branch of the trail in this area. A more southern part of the Great Trail system went from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

across

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

to Oldtown, Maryland, and then to the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

below present-day

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. It crossed Columbiana County to Bolivar and Sandusky, and continued west. The part of the Great Trail used by Colonial American troops during Pontiac's Rebellion has been improved as U.S. Route 23. As with the Native Americans' burning underbrush to clear land for cultivating crops and creating deer fields, the Great Trail shows that the indigenous inhabitants traveled widely on the land, altering it to serve their needs. These parts of

were not an "untouched wilderness," as described by the early colonists.''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

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Bibliography

*Ayres, Harral, ''The Great Trail of New England''. Boston, MA: Meader Publishing Co. (1940) Native American trails in the United States Historic trails and roads in Ontario First Nations history in Ontario First Nations history in Quebec Historic trails and roads in Quebec