The Great Wagon Road: From Philadelphia to the South

by Parke Rouse Jr.

The Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia to the South was first publishedd by McGraw Hill as part of its "Great American Trails" series, edited by A. B. Gutherie, Jr. It was instantly recognized for its insight into the birth of the American South from the early 1700's until the Civil War. Historian Carl Bridenbaugh wrote that "In the last sixteen years of the colonial era, southbound traffic along the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road was numbered in tens of thousands; it was the most heavily travelled road in all America..." and Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson marked its route on their map of Virginia in 1754 as "the great Wagon Road from the Yadkin River through Virginia to Philadelphia distant 435 miles." Over the years the Road led countless Scotch-Irish, Germanic, and English settlers southward from Philadelphia to settle the Appalachian uplands from Pennsylvania to Georgia. Over the Road went the progenitors of John Sevier of Tennessee, John Caldwell Calhoun of South Carolina, Sam Houston of Texas, Cyrus McCormick of Virginia, and other Americans. Countless cities and towns from Philadelphia to Augusta, Georgia, owe their beginning to early camp sites along the Road that grew into tavern locations, then into county seats, and then into centers of agriculture and industry. Today such Wagon Road towns as Lancaster, York, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Harper's Ferry, West Virginia; Winchester, Newmarket, Harrisonburg, Staunton, Lexington, and Rocky Mount, Virginia; Winston-Salem, Salisbury, and Charlotte, North Carolina; and Newberry and Camden, South Carolina have grown along the onetime settler's trail. The Great Wagon Road also tells of Daniel Boone's pioneering from Big Lick, Virginia-now Roanoke-into the territory of Kentucky. Boone Expedited western settlement by cutting a trail across Cumberland Gap on Virginia's frontier to lead settlers in Revolutionary years into dangerous Indian country.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, American Revolutionary War, American Revolution

Paperback

First published June 1, 1973

About the author

Parke Shepherd Rouse Jr. (1915 – March 5, 1997) was an American journalist, writer and historian in Tidewater Virginia. Born in Smithfield, Rouse grew up in Newport News. He attended Washington and Lee University, later moving to Williamsburg, where he worked as director of publications at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Rouse also held several public positions in the Hampton Roads area during his career.

Reviews

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you haven't already figured it out, I am a history buff. I enjoy both historical fiction and historical non-fiction. The Great Wagon Road falls into the latter category. I have long been fascinated by what I call the second wave of settlers -- primarily Ulster Scots and Germans that pushed beyond the Atlantic seaboard and then moved south along the foothills of the Appalachians. The Great Wagon Road is a must read if you are a historian or a genealogist.

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history and especially for anyone living along the so-called 'Great Wagon Road'. I-81 and I-77 are close to (or perhaps right on top of) the key Indian trail between the Iroquois nation of the north and the tribes of the South including the Cherokee and Catawba. This became the Great Wagon Road, the route by which much of the trans-Appalachian region was populated by emigrants from roughly the early 1700s to about 1860. The road ran from Philadelphia to southwest Virginia and then splitting west through the Cumberland Gap to Tennessee and Kentucky and south to the Carolinas and Georgia. It might be called 'history-lite' but still very informative and relatively entertaining. Large numbers of Quakers and later Scots-Irish and many German religious sects arrived in Philadelphia from Europe--Moravians, Lutherans, Mennonites, etc. The Quakers, arriving first mostly remained in and around Philly but the rest pushed west and south settling in places like Lancaster, York, Hagerstown, Winchester, Staunton and on south. One group that apparently did not take to the Great Wagon Road in large numbers were the Irish Catholics, most arriving somewhat later and much more so in New York and Boston (as my own ancestors). 3.5 stars rounded down for being somewhat out of date, though I am not sure it suffers much from it. Modern scholarship probably emphasizes the tragedy of Indian displacement more yet it is not ignored in this book but simply accepted as fact.

[Betsy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fine popular history treatment of the area just east of the Appalachian Mountains from PA to SC and a little about Georgia in the last half of the 18th C. and first half of the 19th. It was interesting all the way through. That all the people who migrated that way were rough was not shown as true. There were some drinkers and gamblers, but more family people who just wanted a better living, some who became slave-holders and some happy to try to make it west of the plantations. Some religious folk who wanted to live where they could remain "pure." Many resisted the Confederacy when civil war came.
Jack bought this book when he was doing a lot of genealogy research because it was likely that his Darr forebear Lorenz, who left Germany and landed in Allentown, PA, in the mid-1700s, went south that way. He found Lorenz's sons in North Carolina, bearing out his hunch somewhat.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not certain how historically accurate it is, as the author sometimes contradicts himself, but still a very good read. This is the way I like to read history! The movement that this book covers is one important to me, since almost all the members of my family traveled down from Pennsylvania or Maryland during the 1700s. I kept an eye out, but the only relative I could spot among the pages was good ole Ben Cleveland. The passage talking about the good Scottish preaching into battle they were given before charging Kings Mt absolutely gave me chills. Yet, the Clevelands were some of the most English people in my family tree, descended from William the Conquerer. Had they forgotten by then?

[Massanutten Regional Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Butch, Central patron, June 2017, 5 stars:

The Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia to the South was first published by McGraw Hill as part of its "Great American Trails" series, edited by A. B. Gutherie, Jr. It was instantly recognized for its insight into the birth of the American South from the early 1700s until the Civil War. Historian Carl Bridenbaugh wrote that "In the last sixteen years of the colonial era, southbound traffic along the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road was numbered in tens of thousands; it was the most heavily travelled road in all America..." and Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson marked its route on their map of Virginia in 1754 as "the great Wagon Road from the Yadkin River through Virginia to Philadelphia distant 435 miles."

Over the years the Road led countless Scotch-Irish, Germanic, and English settlers southward from Philadelphia to settle the Appalachian uplands from Pennsylvania to Georgia. Over the Road went the progenitors of John Sevier of Tennessee, John Caldwell Calhoun of South Carolina, Sam Houston of Texas, Cyrus McCormick of Virginia, and other Americans.

Countless cities and towns from Philadelphia to Augusta, Georgia, owe their beginning to early camp sites along the Road that grew into tavern locations, then into county seats, and then into centers of agriculture and industry. Today such Wagon Road towns as Lancaster, York, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Harper's Ferry, West Virginia; Winchester, Newmarket, Harrisonburg, Staunton, Lexington, and Rocky Mount, Virginia; Winston-Salem, Salisbury, and Charlotte, North Carolina; and Newberry and Camden, South Carolina have grown along the onetime settler's trail.

The Great Wagon Road also tells of Daniel Boone's pioneering from Big Lick, Virginia-now Roanoke-into the territory of Kentucky. Boone expedited western settlement by cutting a trail across Cumberland Gap on Virginia's frontier to lead settlers in Revolutionary years into dangerous Indian country.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Covers a lot of ground from colonial days through civil war. Barely touches on civil war and the advent of cars. Author’s main Focus was on how the road was used to immigrate to various parts of the United States. It provides history on the various groups of people who came down from Pennsylvania into Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. It was a very interesting read, and I would suggest this book for someone wanting to learn more about their personal history. I found that I have a background in many of the various groups of people who immigrated down the great wagon road-from palentine to scotch Irish to Quakers.

[Robert B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the history of the ancient Indian route that became one of colonial America's most important roads, helping English, Scotch-Irish, and Germanic newcomers settle the land. Rouse focuses on the role the road played in the French and Indian Wars, the American Revolution, the spread of religion throughout the colonies, the opening of the trans-Appalachian regions, and the Civil War. Lots of interesting chapters and individuals.

[Kathy Dobronyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Began reading this book as research for my historical fiction novel about Amos Hillyard (1760-1850). Very interesting. Lots of information about the road that became a major thoroughfare for pioneers heading south in search of farm land. The road is now the Valley Pike, SR 11, and I spent a lot of time traveling it last week.

[Gregory Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

for years I've wondered about the path our ancestors too upon arriving in the NE. Rouse does and excellent job incorporating the movement across the Eastern states with the nationalities, religions, habits and traditions of the settlers. This book is a helpful tool in piecing together the jigsaw that became the melting pot that America is. This is an easy and well worthwhile read.

[Rhonda Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good resource book

[Cheryl Keller · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy-to-read history of the early migration of Scotch-Irish and Germanic immigrants from Pennsylvania to the Carolinas along the Great Wagon Road.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purchased this while traveling down "The Great Wagon Road" , now easily traveled as I 81. Some fascinating information here about immigration from Northern Ireland, Germany, the from Philadelphia; why people took the risks and how they lived. If you enjoy this book, be sure to visit the Frontier Museum in Staunton.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading for my Appalachian Folklore class.

[David Frankstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some interesting parts. Good quaotations. But, it is not written very well.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interested in how your folks moved south from inland New York, Pennsylvania? Here it is.