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Introduction

List of Routes

Image Gallery

Internet Resources

Introduction

     The first migrants to cross the Appalachians soon discovered that the mountains were not the only obstacles to westward settlement. The migration of British colonists beyond the mountains into what was to become Ohio was a principal cause of the North American of the French and Indian War (1754-1761).  In the early 1740s, migrants from Pennsylvania and Virginia aggressively advanced claims to the Ohio River valley, a territory the French in Canada considered their own.  In 1753 the French launched an initiative to block further American expansion by erecting a line of forts along the upper Ohio River corridor.  American colonial efforts to stop the French from building Fort Duquesne at the forks of the Ohio River (present Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) precipitated the final contest between France and Great Britain for control of North America. The war's effect on the westward movement of American colonists was profound, as nearly all westward migration during the conflict came to abrupt halt when the Indian peoples living in the vicinity of present-day Ohio allied with the French and attacked the western fringes of colonial settlement in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. In some places the frontier of settlement was driven eastward for several hundred miles as Indian warriors chased settlers towards the Atlantic. Only the capture of Fort Duquesne in 1758 and the subsequent defeat of the local Native-Americans tribes by 1763-1764 reopened the Northwest Territory to American settlement.

     In 1790 the population of the trans-Appalachian region was estimated at more than 120,000. The large number of Americans living west of the Appalachians made the management of westward migration a top priority for the new Federal  government, which hoped to peaceably maintain political authority over its western citizens and allow the settlers to extend the political boundaries of the young nation with their movements. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 offered a solution by creating a model for managed expansion. The legislation provided for the organization of the Northwest Territory into new states by creating a defined set of conditions that assured the creation of civilian government in the newly settled regions and prepared the new territories for statehood. The system successfully managed the steady migration of settlers into the Old Northwest Territory, which eventually became the states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

     Technological advances in transportation made a more organized, manageable westward advance possible, and contributed to the rapid settlement of the Midwest.  The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 provided convenient access for thousands of New England migrants who eventually settled in Michigan, northern Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/westward-migration

List of routes

Generally these routes are defined as having their terminus in present day Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

The LINKS in the following list will take you to either our web page or

Another  identified resource with more information about that migration route..

*  = denotes link to a “Road Trip” page;    = link to image gallery

NAME (A)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (B)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Buffalo Trace

Clarksville, Indiana

to

Vincennes, Indiana

The Buffalo Trace was a Native-American trail that started at the Ohio River, near Clarksville and ran north to Vincennes, Indiana.  The later Louisville–Vincennes Road intersected this trail at Floyd’s Knob, Indiana .

Bullskin Road

Bullskin Creek near Chilo, OH

to  Detroit, MI

aka. Shawnee Indian Road;  Xenia State Road

NAME (C)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Carp River Trail

L’Anse Indian Reservation,

Baraga County, Michigan

to

Rapid River, Michigan

This trail is located on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It runs from the L’Anse Indian Reservation on Huron Bay in Baraga County along Lake Superior, to Marquette.  From Marquette it follows US Route 41 southeast to join the Green Bay-Sault Trail at Rapid River, Michigan.  

Catawba Trail

Carolinas

to

 Ohio & Indiana

The Catawba Trail is a part of the complex of Native- American paths know commonly as the Great Indian Warpath.  The trail leads from the Carolinas northerly into Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Cheboygan Trail

Alger, Michigan

to

Cheboygan, Michigan

Today this Native-American path generally follows Michigan Route 33 north into the “mitt” of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, where it ends at the present city of Cheboyan.  It ran parallel and to the east of the Mackinac Trail to which it joined near Alger, MI.

Chicago Road *

Detroit, Michigan

to

Chicago, Illinois

Follows general route of the Old Sauk Trail. Today Its route is approximately represented by the former route of US 112 (now US 12).  

Chicago - Detroit Post Road

see Chicago Road

Cuyahoga-Muskingum Trail

Cleveland, Ohio

to

Marietta, Ohio

This Native-American trail extended from the mouth of the Cuyahoga river at the present day city of Cleveland, OH  south along the Cuyahoga river and crossing the portage in Summit county, descended the Tuscarawas and Muskingum to the Ohio River at present day Marietta, Ohio.

NAME (D)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Delaware Road

Hamilton, Ohio

to

Muncie, Indiana

Early settlers used this route to travel from old Fort Hamilton, on the Great Miami River to the interior of the Indiana Territory.  The early migrants used extensions of this road from Muncie going northwest to Kokomo, west to the Wildcat Creek which flowed into the Wabash River at Lafayette, and northward into the Michigan Territory.

NAME (E)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (F)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Fort Kaskaskia Road

Shawneetown, Ohio

to

Cahokia, Illinois

This was a French and Indian trail between Shawneetown on the Ohio River, near the mouth of the Wabash River, and Cahokia, Illinois located across the Mississippoi River from St. Louis. 

Fort Miami Trail

Cincinnatti, Ohio

to

Toledo, Ohio

The Old Miami Trail was sometimes called the Fort Miami Trail, simply because it led to old Fort Miami, the oldest fortification in the State of Ohio.

French-Indian Trail

Detriot, MI

to

Toledo, OH

A section of the Native-American Shore Trail this  Trail ran along the west bank of the Detroit River and through the swamps to the vicinity of Toledo, Ohio.

NAME (G)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Grand River Trail

Detriot, Michigan

to

Lansing, Michigan

A Native-American trail that crossed the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. As with other "Indian trails," the Grand River Trail was used by the European settlers arriving in Michigan in the 1830s and '40s. The original footpath was gradually improved until, around 1850, two plank roads were constructed linking Detroit and Lansing, the capital city of Michigan.

Great Path

see, Great Trail

Great Trail

The Great Trail (also called the Great Path) was a network of footpaths created by Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking peoples prior to the arrival of European colonists in North America. It connected the Great Lakes region the mid-Atlantic. It was the western extension trails that ran from the Delaware and Chesapeake bays to the forks of the Ohio (Pittsburgh). 

NAME (H)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (I)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (J)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (K)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (L)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Lac Vieux Desert Trail

L’Anse, Michigan

to

Lac Vieux Desert, MI / WI

This 80+ mile trail played a significant role in the culture of the Ojibwe people prior to the 17th and 18th century. This trail crossed the interior of the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and provides access to the major water routes connecting Lake Superior in the north to the Mississippi via the Wisconsin River and Lake Michigan to the east. aka. L’Anse-Lac Vieux Desert Trail, and Lac Vieux Desert – L’Anse Trail.

Limestone Road

Wheeling, West Virginia

to

Maysville, Kentucky

Another name for Zane’s Trace as the southwestern terminus was Limestone, Kentucky (present-day Maysville). People who traveled the road began to refer to it by a number of different names, rather than Zane's Trace.

Limestone & Chillicothe Road

Another name for Zane’s Trace.

Louisville - Vincennes Road

Louisville, Kentucky

To

Vincennes, Indiana

    A route used by early migrants who moved up into Indiana as it was opened for settlement following the War of 1812. This route is now primarily that of US 150 to Shoals IN, then US 50 on west, to Vincennes, on the Wabash River. The original path is identified as the "Buffalo Trace".

NAME (M)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Mackinac Trail

(Mackinaw Trail)

Saginaw, Michigan

to

Mackinaw City, Michigan

Originally a military road established as a link between Saginaw and Fort Mackinaw.  Surveyed in 1835 the route closely followed the Indian path known as the Mackinaw trail. The trail did not become passable for vehicles until several decades later. aka. Mackinaw Trail .

Mahoning Trail

Beaver, Pennsylvania

to

Akron, Ohio

This Native-American path followed the Mahoning River into Ohio. Its westward course led through Portage and Summit counties to Sandusky Bay. aka. Mahoning Trace

Marquette Trail

Marquette, Michigan

To

Junction US Route 141 and

US Route 41

The Marquette Trail is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  U.S. Route 41 generally follows the old path which connects with the Lac Vieux Desert–L’Anse Trail on its west end and the Carp River Trail on the east at the

City of Marquette on Lake Superior.

Maysville Pike

Another name for Zane’s Trace.

Maysville Road

Another name for Zane’s Trace.

Michigan Road

Madison, Indiana

to

Michigan City, Indiana

One of most important transportation routes in the fledgling State of Indiana. The first commissioned road by the Indiana State Legislature in 1826. This road became a key thoroughfare in opening up the state to settlement.

Mingo Trail

Fairview, OH / Zanesville, OH

A Native-American Trail that became a part of  Zane’s Trace

Moxahala Trail

Zanesville, OH / Chillicothe, OH

A Native-American Trail that became a part of  Zane’s Trace

NAME (N)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

National Road *

Baltimore, Maryland

to

Vandalia, Illinois

Includes portions of the Cumberland Road and Braddock’s Road in the east. By 1825, it had reached Vandalia, Illinois and eventually stretched to St. Louis, Missouri.

NAME (O)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Ohio River-Wills Town Trail

Steubenville, OH

to

Wills Town, OH

This trail was used extensively by the first white settlers as they pushed into eastern Ohio after the American Revolution The trail extended from Crow's town on the Ohio near the present city of Steubenville to Wills town, a former Native-American settlement now located in Madison Twp., Muskingum County, Ohio.

Old Miami Trail

Cincinnatti, Ohio

to

Detroit, Michigan

This Native-American trading and war path was part of the great trunk trail which ran from the Great Lakes to the Gulf.. From the Ohio River northward the trail is called the Old Miami Trail. In later times it became a military trail between the northern and southern Ohio and was used by General Wayne during his Indian Campaign of 1793-94, see Wayne’s Trace.

Old Sauk Trail

Rock Island, IL

to

Detroit, MI

A Native-American trail that ran easterly across Illinois near US Route 6  from Rock Island to the Illinois River at about where Peru is now, to Detroit. Via US Route 12, (see The Chicago Road).

NAME (P)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Peoria-Galena Road

Peoria, Illinois

to

Galena, Illinois

This road was an important stage, mail and shipping road going from the Illinois River at Peoria to Galena. The route went due north (IL 88), crossing the Rock River at Rock Falls and Sterling IL.  Near Brookville, in Ogle Co, it turned north-west and headed for Galena.

NAME (Q)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Quaker Trace

Lexington, Indiana

to

Fort Wayne, Indiana

This south-north road was built in 1817 to give early settlers north of Wayne County, Indiana a trade outlet to old Fort Wayne.  The route is about 225 miles in length and generally follows present day US Route 27. 

NAME (R)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (S)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Saginaw Trail

Saginaw, Michigan

to

Detroit, Michigan

Saginaw Trail is the collective name for a set of connected roads in Southeastern Michigan that runs from Detroit to Saginaw through Pontiac and Flint. It was originally a foot trail created by the Sauk tribe.  The building of a road from Detroit to Saginaw along the trail was authorized in 1818. Today this route generally follows roads bearing the designations M-1, US Highway 24 and M-54.

Sault-Green Bay Trail

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

to

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Today this old Native American path  follows along part of the modern US Route 2 and Michigan 35 between Menominee and Escanaba. This trail continued eastward from Escanaba to Sault Ste. Marie and southerly to Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Scioto Trail

Portsmouth, Ohio

to

Sandusky, Ohio

This important south-north route was extensively used by the first whites who pushed their way into the country north and west of the Ohio, after the Revolutionary War.    The trail ran from the mouth of the Scioto river where it joins the Ohio River north to the Sandusky river an on to the Sandusky bay.

Shawnee Indian Road

see Bullskin Road

Shiawassee Trail

Saginaw, Michigan

to

Detroit, Michigan

This major Native-American path is over 100 miles in length. It ran from the Saginaw Trail in the north through Shiawasseetown in Shiawassee County to the Rogue River in Detroit where it intersected with the Grand River Trail. 

Shore Trail

Eire, Pennsylvania

to

Toledo, Ohio

This Native-American path followed the southern shore of Lake Erie, from where Erie, PA now stands westward along Sandusky Bay and then joined the French-Indian Trail north to the site of Detroit, and continued on up the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

St. Joseph Trail

Lake Michigan

to

Lake Erie

One of two principal routes used by the Iroquois to go to Fort Malden to receive their annual presents from the British. This trail lead up the St. Joseph River from Lake Michigan and overland to the Huron River and along the Huron River to Lake Erie.

Stagecoach Trail

Galena, Illinois

to

 Lena, Illinois

An historic route through northern Jo Daviess County and western Stephenson County, in the northwest of Illinois.

State Road *

Chicago, Illinois

to

 Galena, Illinois

Connecting to the Chicago Road, the State Road extended west from Chicago through Elgin and Rockford to Galena, Illinois.

NAME (T)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Tennessee River - Ohio - Great Lakes Trail

Another name for the Old Miami Trail

Tod's Trace

Another name for Zane’s Trace.

NAME (U)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (V)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (W)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Wabash Way

Another name for The Old Miami Trail, in the northern section of Ohio. This was the most prominent travel and trade route between Canada and Louisiana, it being used by the early French colonies. It also makes up part of the "Great Trail" of Ohio

Wayne Trace

Cincinnati, Ohio

 to

Greenville, Ohio

A military road built, in the old Northwest Territory, by General (Mad) Anthony Wayne from Fort Washington (Cincinnati) to Greenville, Ohio during his 1793–94 Indiana campaigns against Native-Americans, aka Wayne(‘s) Road/ Trace.

Wetzel Trace

Laurel, Franklin County,Indiana

to

Rockville, Parke County, Indiana

Named after Jacob Wetzel, this was the first road built in the Indiana, and the route to the settlement of the Indianapolis.  This migration route commenced at the White Water River and followed several Indian paths to the Falls of the White River now Indianapolis, IN   

Wheeling Road

Another name for Zane’s Trace.

Wheeling- Limestone Road

Another name for Zane’s Trace.

NAME (X)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Xenia State Road

In 1807 became the first State Road in Ohio, see Bullskin Road.

NAME (Y)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

NAME (Z)

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Zanesville Pike

Another name for Zane’s Trace.

Zane’s Trace *

Wheeling, West Virginia

to

Maysville, Kentucky

Early path used by white settlers coming into Ohio Territory after the Revolutionary War. Later the segment between Wheeling, WV and Zanesville, OH became a part of National Road.

*  = denotes link to a “Road Trip” page

 = has an Image Gallery

Image Gallery

During our research we have collected images and photographs that are of general interest to a variety of historic American migration routes, roads and trails.  Some of them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of this topic as well as our ancestors past lives.

Click on image to enlarge

Use this LINK to see the “Image

 Galleries” that pertain to this topic.

Use the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about this topic. A Click on this button will link you to the Google Images Search page. 

Enter the topic you are searching in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images” display page you will see the image, as well as the website of which it is associated.

Inyernet resources

The Google search engine

 button  and following web

sites    may     provide    you

with additional information

to assist with your research

about   this   topic. 

·      American Migration Patterns

·      Migration Routes, Roads & Trails

·      Brethren Life: Migrations

·      Trails West - TNGenWeb

·      Historical U.S. roads and trails - Wikipedia

·      U.S. Historical Maps - Perry-Castañeda Collection

·      Early American Roads and Trails

·      Frontier Trails: A Brief History

·      MIGRATIONS.org

·      ROOTS / MIGRATIONS

·    American Migration Fact Sheets

·    Map guide to American migration routes,1735-1815

·    Migration Book Store

·    Early Migration Routes

·    The Overland Trail Links--Ancient Indian Trails

·    American Westward Expansion

·    Migration Message Boards – Ancestry.com

·    The African-American Migration Experience 

·    Migration Trails – map of many U.S. trails

·    Migration Information & Maps By Ethnic Group

·      Ohio Migrations Map and Information

·       Ontario - Michigan Migration

·      Migration Patterns 1780-1850: Southeast Michigan

·                            Intro. to Early Road Development: Wisconsin

·    Pioneer Migration Routes through Ohio

·    The Michigan Migration Project

·    19th-Century Immigration - Wisconsin Historical Society

·    Indian Trails and Towns in Ohio

Download a free 2-page Fact Sheet

about American migration routes.

The following Link will take you to our library of genealogy reference books.   Here you will find books about historic American roads, trails, and paths.  In addition, there are texts that pertain to ethnic and religion groups, history, geography as well as other books that will assist you with your research.

This Link will take you to our

collection of reference books.  

Contact Information

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889 Dante Ct.
Mantua, NJ 08051

USA

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6484 Riverstone Dr

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