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EXPLORING
KENTUCKY - October 2006 by Katherine Tandy Brown A Gap in History
“Most people think Daniel Boone came through Cumberland Gap first,” says Vickie Manies at the Dr. Thomas Walker State Historic Site, “but that’s not true. Thomas Walker came through and Boone came after him. We know this because according to Boone’s notes, Walker kept a journal of his travels, and Boone took a copy of that journal to find his way through the mountains.” Nearly a generation before Boone, surveyor Dr. Thomas Walker led a party of explorers through the gap into the western wilderness of Kanta-Ke. On March 6, 1750, the William and Mary-educated physician set off from his Virginia home with five men, seven horses and a slew of hunting dogs across the Appalachians Mountains. Their goal was to find and claim land for settlement as part of an 800,000-acre land grant to the Loyal Company of Virginia, which the doctor owned in partnership with a number of men, including Thomas Jefferson’s father, Peter Jefferson, and Meriwether Lewis’ grandfather, Thomas Meriwether. On April 17, Walker crossed Cumberland Gap, which he called Cave Gap, to “discover” Kentucky, though indigenous peoples had lived in the area for perhaps 10,000 years. For three months, the party traveled over some 350 miles of previously uncharted territory. Along the way, Walker named mountains and waterways, including the Cumberland River, after the Duke of Cumberland, for whom he had an affinity. As would be expected, the journey was rough, and the explorers gave up their search for tillable land at present-day Irvine, just shy of central Kentucky’s lush Bluegrass, returning to Virginia. Almost three decades later, Walker traveled back to Kentucky to survey an extension of the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina west through Cumberland Gap to the Mississippi. That boundary is now the state line between Tennessee and Kentucky. Near the aforementioned river on his initial journey, the learned explorer erected a log cabin, the first house built by a white man in Kentucky and the farthest west of any Anglo-Saxon civilization of that day. Today, a replica stands on the original site about seven miles outside Barbourville at the Thomas Walker State Historic Site. During his four-month foray into Kentucky, Walker described in his journal the mountainous area’s abundant wildlife, dense forests and rugged terrain. That same natural beauty still exists on the site’s 12 acres – which are open all year and are a prime spot for picnicking – as well as in Pine Mountain State Resort Park, a “leaf peeper’s” fall paradise of a 30-mile drive down US 25E, just north of Middlesboro, which is near Cumberland Gap. Opened in 1924 as Kentucky’s first State Park, Pine Mountain is smack in the Kentucky Ridge State Forest, and its lovely Laurel Cove is home to the Mountain Laurel Festival each May. Built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the upper level of the park lodge still boasts handcrafted workmanship in its original sandstone and chestnut log construction. Take in the area’s autumn colors and luscious mountain views from the historic structure’s private balconies or from cottages and cabins tucked in the trees. Golfers can try to lower their handicap at the park’s challenging 18-hole Wasioto Winds course, while hikers can stroll 8.5 miles of wooded trails, which include a panoramic view of Pikeville and the multimillion-dollar “big cut” that saved the town from annual flooding by the Big Sandy River. Thomas Walker undoubtedly would be amazed at all of the above and pleased at his legacy in this gorgeous Kentucky corner. Opening the land, however, was not his only gift to future generations. During one or both of his forays into the new territory, Walker left some of his dogs, “Virginia hounds” bred from English Foxhounds the avid hunter had imported from England in 1742. Excellent hunters, these pups aided in the garnering of the original survey party’s food supply – 13 buffalo, eight elk, 53 bears, 20 deer, four wild geese, 150 or so wild turkeys and an untold amount of small game. Their descendants eventually became known as Walker Coonhounds, still enthusiastic participants in the hunt field. Nose out more info about the fascinating Dr. Walker and his woodsy site at (606) 546-4400 or surf to http://parks.ky.gov/statehistoricsites/dt/index.htm. For information on Pine Mountain State Resort Park, call (800) 325-1712 or visit www.pinemountainpark.com.
Katherine Tandy
Brown is a staff writer for The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2006, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content
is copyright 2006, Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
Like most folks, I’ve thought for years that Daniel Boone was the first white man to make his way through Cumberland Gap, and that because of his daring to set foot on soil untrod by all but Native Americans, Kentuckians owed this pioneer a debt of gratitude for opening a new way to the West. Turns out that yes, he certainly was courageous and did indeed explore new lands, but thanks to a predecessor who recorded his daily doings, the revered frontiersman had a map through the gap.