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Article: Cumberland Gap
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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CUMBERLAND GAP
CUMBERLAND GAP,
one of the clearest passes through the Cumberland Mountains in the Appalachian Range, lies where Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet. First used to connect the vast system of trails used by the Indians to the game-rich country of Kentucky, the pass became, by the ninteenth century, one of the most significant gateways for white hunters. Dr. Thomas Walker named the gap in 1750 when he and his party went through it while speculating for the Loyal Land Company. In 1775, Daniel Boone and his party marked out the Wilderness Road through the Gap to the Kentucky River for the Transylvania Company, which facilitated both settlers and commerce through the ...