The timing of this post is perfect. 2025 marks the bicentennial of the Erie Canal. Organizations from the NY state level on down to ports along the path are celebrating this achievement, which opened up a flood of people and commerce between the East and Inner America. Your post reminds us that the Cumberland Gap was the precursor to Clinton's Ditch. Both had their day and should be staples in the study of America's growth.
If your ancestors were packetboat passengers in the early 1830s, they would have been towed along just a short distance away from where I live, near the Niagara River. The stretch of the original and enlarged versions of the Erie, from my location (Tonawanda, NY) to Buffalo, has been long buried, but not forgotten. I often walk along the river and read the historical markers, imagining the scenes that once took place there.
The Cumberland Gap played prominently in John Fox Jr.'s "Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come". It was must-reading for my family from the earliest 20th century. Generations of parents would read it to their children. My brother Chad was named after the protagonist, Chadwick Buford. Whenever I hear of the Cumberland Gap, I cannot help but think of Chadwick Buford, the little shepherd of Kingdom Come.
The timing of this post is perfect. 2025 marks the bicentennial of the Erie Canal. Organizations from the NY state level on down to ports along the path are celebrating this achievement, which opened up a flood of people and commerce between the East and Inner America. Your post reminds us that the Cumberland Gap was the precursor to Clinton's Ditch. Both had their day and should be staples in the study of America's growth.
Tracking that as it appears my maternal ancestors reached what would soon become Michigan via that route, early 1830s.
If your ancestors were packetboat passengers in the early 1830s, they would have been towed along just a short distance away from where I live, near the Niagara River. The stretch of the original and enlarged versions of the Erie, from my location (Tonawanda, NY) to Buffalo, has been long buried, but not forgotten. I often walk along the river and read the historical markers, imagining the scenes that once took place there.
I’m reading suggestions that there may be records of these passengers?
The Cumberland Gap played prominently in John Fox Jr.'s "Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come". It was must-reading for my family from the earliest 20th century. Generations of parents would read it to their children. My brother Chad was named after the protagonist, Chadwick Buford. Whenever I hear of the Cumberland Gap, I cannot help but think of Chadwick Buford, the little shepherd of Kingdom Come.
Still a beautiful area. I remember passing through as a kid on a family trip from Chicago to DC and admiring the view.