Nemacolin's Path

Nemacolin's Path nĕmˈəkōˌlĭnz [key], Native American trail between the Potomac and the Monongahela rivers, going from the site of Cumberland, Md., to the mouth of Redstone Creek, where Brownsville, Pa., is situated. It was blazed and cleared in 1749 or 1750 by Nemacolin, a Delaware chief, and Thomas Cresap, a Maryland frontiersman. The path was of military importance as the route of George Washington's first Western expedition and of Gen. Edward Braddock's expedition in the last of the French and Indian Wars. It was known as Braddock's Road until the Cumberland Road or National Road was built on the same route.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History