In 1782 maps were hard to come by. It was not until 1784 that John Filson had his map engraved by Henry Pursell and published by T. Rook in Philadelphia. It outlines "The Road from the Old Settle' thro' the great Wildnenefs". Now before 1782-1784, lots of folks had made their way through this great wilderness. Two accounts giving mileage charts are recorded by The Filson Club, 1886. [The Wilderness Road, A Description of The Routes of Travel By Which The Pioneers and Early Settlers First Came To Kentucky. Prepared For The Filson Club by Thomas Speed, 1886.] The chart below outlines these accounts from the start of the Cumberland Gap. The figure shows the area around what was to become Danville, KY.
In 1782 "Doehurty's Station" [Dougherty's = John Dougherty would raised a crop of corn 1776] was the stopping point. By 1784, "Crow's Station" [ John Crow = in present city limits of Danville] was given as the end point of this passage. Both lists give about the same land marks, which can be followed as outlined above.
The present day counties in which these locations existed in 1782-1784 are given in the figure below. One starts at the Cumberland Gap into Bell County, KY. This then moves to Knox, then Laural, then Rockcastle, then Lincoln, and finally what is now Boyle County, KY.
In 1782 - 1784, getting to what was to become Danville, KY was by a wilderness path...the way in.
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