About this Book

Daniel Boone did not discover Cumberland Gap, nor was he the first explorer of Kentucky, then an unknown "Wilderness" on the Western frontier of the Colony of Virginia. In 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker, Agent of the Loyal Company, and 5 others, discovered Cumberland Gap, discovered and named the Cumberland River, discovered Pine Mountain Gap ("The Narrows"), Cumberland Ford -- the only place where the river could be easily crossed by people, horses and wagons -- and he built the first cabin in Kentucky. Walker's Journal, maps, and surveys led to The Wilderness Road, over which 300,000 pioneer settlers entered Kentucky. The book has 90 illustrations -- photographs, maps, holographs pages from Walker's Journal, and through words and images makes the period come alive.