Great Indian Warpath

United States   Migration    Trails and Roads    Great Indian Warpath

The Great Indian Warpath (purple on the map), or Seneca Trail, was actually a network of ancient Indian pathways with many branches. Some parts of the trail also shifted west over time to adjust to pressure from British colonies. The path goes from Mobile, Alabama to Chattanooga, Tennessee to Knoxville, Tennessee to Bristol, Virginia to Roanoke, Virginia along the Appalachian Valley. The trail also continued north to Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and the Great Lakes under the name of the Seneca Trail. Parts of the Great Indian Warpath were used as parts of other trails such as the Great Valley Road, Kanawha Trail, Wilderness Road, Catawba Trail, Unicoi Trail, and Georgia Road.

Settlers and Records
The earliest travelers used the trail more for trade or war than for moving settlers. There is no known list of settlers who travelled the whole Great Indian Warpath. However, many pioneers used sections of the trail, for example from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Huntsville, Alabama (a spur of the Georgia Road). For records of settlers who used parts of the Great Indian Warpath, see the name of the smaller trail that traversed part of the longer Warpath.

Internet Sites

 * "Native American Trails" in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture at http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=T106 (accessed 14 August 2010).
 * Will McElfresh, "Why We Are Here" Chapter 1 in A Special Place for 200 Years at http://spec.lib.vt.edu/bicent/recoll/histbook/arehere.htm (accessed 15 August 2010).