The Cherokee Path was the only unencumbered route for the two hundred mile journey from the mountains of South Carolina to the coast without crossing a major river or other obstacle. Trails first grew from migratory animals linking water and food sources, then humans used and improved them over time. Native Americans developed paths from camp to camp and to connect trade and resource sites, including sea shells at the coast. The Cherokee Path had been used by Native Americans for thousands of years before European settlers established Charles Town in 1670, and the site of Charles Town was chosen because the trail was already there. Footpaths into the interior became trading paths for Cherokees bringing deerskins to the port of Charleston and for settlers leading pack horses loaded with goods to the upstate. As settlement moved westward, the paths became wagon roads that served as the colony’s main transportation arteries, and many of South Carolina’s modern roads still follow these Indian path routes. Ancient Cherokee traveled more than two hundred miles across South Carolina from the mountains to the seacoast to collect sea shells for tools, implements, ornaments, and wampum belts.