I'm trying to find out if any of the Indian Trails in the Ohio Territory would have been used by settlers who arrived in Ohio late in the year 1800. I've tried researching this topic, and found mention of the Cuyahoga - Muskingum Trail.
Railsandtrails mentions this route and it appears on this
image as Trail #5.
Quote:
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Trail No. 5, known as the Cuyahoga-Muskingum Trail, extended from the mouth of the Cuyahoga river on the north and following the Cuyahoga river and crossing the portage in Summit county, descended the Tuscarawas and Muskingum to its mouth. The principal towns on this trail were Saguin's Post, Ottawa town and Mingo town on the Cuyahoga; Tuscarawas and Beaver towns on the Great Trail; Conchake and White Eyes towns near the forks of the Muskingum and the several Delaware towns to the south.
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I also found a
1776 map that shows the same series of Indian trails in Ohio. I believe this trail was also called the "War Trail". I also found mentioned that a canal system linking these two rivers was proposed as early as 1784. Zane's Trace (the east/west route) wasn't completed until 1802. Wouldn't the early residents have worked to have a north/south route?
I'm primarily interested in finding more information about the Muskingum Trail portion. Would the surveyors or new settlers widen this Indian trail to allow for passage of wagons? I know the first settlers to Ohio arrived in flatboats, but as Ohio approached statehood wouldn't they have widen these trails to accommodate wagons?
Thanks in advance for any guidance you can give me for my research
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