The Cumberland Trace

Named by early pioneers traveling through the region, the Cumberland Trace was a designated Indian trail that led settlers into this area during western migration. Mainly a Cherokee trail, though also used some by the Shawnee, it originated at Rockwood in Roane County, Tennessee, and meandered northward into Jackson County, where it forked. One branch went through Smith, Trousdale, and Sumner Counties to Nashville. The other continued through Jackson County and its Indian villages, then emerged at two sites in Macon County, with a lower leg entering at the county's extreme southeastern corner and an upper leg entering above Jennings Creek. The two joined south of Red Boiling Springs and then traveled west of there to Monroe County, Kentucky, where the trail crossed the Macon County line near White Oak, Long, and Salt Lick Creeks. The trace ended at Indian settlements on the Green and Barren Rivers in southern Kentucky. Daniel Boone followed the Cumberland Trace during his explorations through here.

Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee · United States