 | History of Roanoke County |  |
Great Indian Trail
Along the valleys of Southwest Virginia and East
Tennessee lay the Great Indian Trail, or the route
of travel between the northern and southern Indians
in their hunting excursions, hostile expeditions, and
their embassies of peace.
This trail, called the "Great Path," passed near
the present site of the rock road, extending from
Seven Mile Ford, in Smyth County, through Roanoke
County and on down the Valley. It ran through
Salem and crossed Mason's Creek just north of Pitzer's
Cliff, across the hill to Peters' Creek and on
by the village of Gainsborough, near where Roanoke
City now stands, where the trail divided, one going
east across the Blue Ridge near Buford's Gap into
Bedford County. The other branch went to the
north, passing by the present site of Cloverdale, in
Botetourt County, and thence down the Valley.
The diverging point of the "Great Trail" became
the converging point for pioneers on their westward
journeys from the north and east, and it in time became
a great center of population. (See History of
Roanoke City.)
| History of Roanoke County | |