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The Great Warrior’s Path, otherwise known as the Great Wagon Road, traveled southward from western Maryland to the crossing of the Potomac River.⁽¹⁾ During a 1722 meeting with Colonel Alexander Spotswood of Virginia and the Five Nations of Iroquois, an agreement confirming the traveling limitations strictly to the Warrior’s route and not west of the Blue Ridge Mountains was achieved.⁽²⁾ Spotswood reflected upon this meeting as an act of peace and growth for the area of Virginia. The treaty proves the population growth into the area immediately after the 1722 meeting and the popularity of the road known as the Warrior’s Path. From the peaceful actions of this agreement, Lord Baltimore of Maryland began a 1732 campaign, enticing families to migrate to his lands. The Maryland proprietor offered 200 acres, free between the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers. Exemptions included no quit rent payments for three years at a rate of four shillings sterling per hundred acres.⁽³⁾ A similar endeavor was occurring in Virginia, offering cheap lands to all newcomers. These actions sparked the initial start of the first most remarkable migration to ever exist on American soil.

The Potomac River swiftly flows 405 miles and is one of the largest rivers located along the eastern sections of the United States. The Native Americans had different names for several segments along the river, and some of these are Cohongarooton and Patawomke, meaning honking geese and river of swans.⁽⁴⁾ The legal use of these waters was in litigation for many years between Maryland and Virginia. Finally, by 1785. the Mount Vernon Conference⁽⁵⁾ settled the issue and equally divided the river between the two states. White’s Ferry, which is cable operated, recently ceased operations due to litigations over private property use. This family-owned business was the last known ferry system still in operation from the early 19th century. For the colonial families dating to early and mid-18th-century, ferries were vital with rivers like the Potomac.

The well-known main roads during the 1720 decade lead from Pennsylvania through Maryland to Virginia. One main route ran along the eastern shore and crossed the Elk River. Continuing to Frederick and Georgetown, the road crossed at the Sassafras River, heading into Chesterfield. It would then travel to East Neck Island, and travelers would board a boat to reach Annapolis.⁽⁶⁾ Many historians debate and proclaim this to be the most popular route during the 1720 and 1730 decades. The name of this eastern route is King’s Highway, and you can read much more about this historical road by reading archived articles on Piedmont Trails.

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