Kittanning Path
Encyclopedia
The Kittanning Path was a major east-west
Native American
trail in western Pennsylvania
used during the 18th century. It provided an overland route for the Lenape
, Shawnee
, and early Europe
an settlers across the Allegheny Mountains
, terminating at its western end on the Allegheny River
at the Native American village of Kittanning
(at present day Kittanning, Pennsylvania
), the largest Native American village in the Ohio Country
west of the Alleghenies. It tranversed a section of Pennsylvania closed to white settlement by the original settlement treaty with William Penn
.
In an attempt to settle frontier borders, the English and Native Americans signed the Treaty of Fort Stanwix
after the French and Indian War
. It opened some of Pennsylvania west of the Alleghenies to white settlement. In the 1750s, this area had been the scene of a fierce raids by Native Americans against white settlement, and a major British retribution campaign during the French and Indian War
.
The Kittanning Path fell into disuse in the 1780s and was abandoned. A section of the original path is preserved in northwestern Cambria County
.
at Frankstown on the Juniata River
. It ran west, crossing the Allegheny Ridge approximately 5 mi (8 km) west of Altoona at Kittanning Gap
, later the location of the Horseshoe Curve
railroad site.
The path ran northwest through Cambria County, passing east of Carrolltown
. It entered Indiana County
approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) south of Cherry Tree
at "Canoe Place", the uppermost
Native American
canoe
portage on the West Branch of the Susquehanna
.
It followed a southwest course, through Yellow Creek State Park
, then along the headwaters of Two Lick Creek
, roughly past Uniontown, Pennsylvania (not the current Uniontown
), Cookport, and Diamondville to U.S. Highway 422. It followed the approximate present course of the highway west and NNW through Indiana
to Shelocta
. It crossed into Armstrong County
near Elderton
and ended at the village of Kittanning on the west bank of the Allegheny.
, and in 1754 by John Harris
, the founder of Harrisburg
. The last Native American encampment was recorded at the site in 1781.
In the 1750s the path became the route by which Lenape, unhappy with the treaty that had given away much of their land rights in western Pennsylvania, raided white settlements in central Pennsylvania. In 1755, the Lenape chief Shingas
used the trail to attack British
settlements in the Juniata River
, returning with prisoners to the village of Kittanning. In early August 1756, the Lenape used the path to burn Fort Granville
near present-day Lewistown
and take prisoners. After the burning of the fort, the British dispatched Lt. Colonel John Armstrong, who pursued the Lenape along the path, camping at Canoe Place in early September before moving on to destroy the village of Kittanning. Armstrong earned the title "the Hero of Kittanning" for the raid, and later went on to serve as a Major General for the United States in the American Revolutionary War
and to serve in the Second Continental Congress
.
The path was also traveled by Conrad Weiser
, who was accompanied by William Franklin
, the son of Benjamin Franklin
. Weiser recorded the journey in his journal.
Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
trail in western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
used during the 18th century. It provided an overland route for the Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
, Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
, and early Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an settlers across the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
, terminating at its western end on the Allegheny River
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
at the Native American village of Kittanning
Kittanning (village)
Kittanning was an 18th century Native American village in the Ohio Country, located on the Allegheny River at present-day Kittanning, Pennsylvania. The village was at the western terminus of the Kittanning Path, an Indian trail that provided a route across the Alleghenies between the Ohio and...
(at present day Kittanning, Pennsylvania
Kittanning, Pennsylvania
Kittanning is a borough and the county seat of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is situated northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Allegheny River. The name means "at the great stream" in the Delaware language...
), the largest Native American village in the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
west of the Alleghenies. It tranversed a section of Pennsylvania closed to white settlement by the original settlement treaty with William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
.
In an attempt to settle frontier borders, the English and Native Americans signed the Treaty of Fort Stanwix
Treaty of Fort Stanwix
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was an important treaty between North American Indians and the British Empire. It was signed in 1768 at Fort Stanwix, located in present-day Rome, New York...
after the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. It opened some of Pennsylvania west of the Alleghenies to white settlement. In the 1750s, this area had been the scene of a fierce raids by Native Americans against white settlement, and a major British retribution campaign during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
.
The Kittanning Path fell into disuse in the 1780s and was abandoned. A section of the original path is preserved in northwestern Cambria County
Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Cambria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It comprises the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 143,679....
.
Description (East to West)
It began southeast of AltoonaAltoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
at Frankstown on the Juniata River
Juniata River
The Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long, in central Pennsylvania in the United States. The river is considered scenic along much of its route, having a broad and shallow course passing through several mountain ridges and steeply-lined water gaps...
. It ran west, crossing the Allegheny Ridge approximately 5 mi (8 km) west of Altoona at Kittanning Gap
Kittanning Gap
Kittanning Gap is a gap at the summit of Allegheny Ridge in central Pennsylvania in the United States. It is located in Logan Township, approximately 5 mi west of Altoona.-History:...
, later the location of the Horseshoe Curve
Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania)
Horseshoe Curve is a famous railroad horseshoe curve in central Pennsylvania, near Altoona in the United States. Called an "engineering marvel", it was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad...
railroad site.
The path ran northwest through Cambria County, passing east of Carrolltown
Carrolltown, Pennsylvania
Carrolltown is a borough within East Carroll Township in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,049 at the 2000 census...
. It entered Indiana County
Indiana County, Pennsylvania
-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 58,077 registered voters in Indiana County .* Democratic: 26,653 * Republican: 24,159 * Other Parties: 7,265 -County commissioners:*Rodney Ruddock, Chairman, Republican...
approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) south of Cherry Tree
Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania
Cherry Tree is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 443 at the 2000 census.-History:Cherry Tree is situated mostly in a valley near the headwaters of West Branch of the Susquehanna River where the river is fed by Cush Cushion Creek.Cherry Tree was originally...
at "Canoe Place", the uppermost
Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
portage on the West Branch of the Susquehanna
West Branch Susquehanna River
The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the extension of the main branch, with the shorter West Branch...
.
It followed a southwest course, through Yellow Creek State Park
Yellow Creek State Park
Yellow Creek State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Brush Valley and Cherryhill Townships, Indiana County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is along Yellow Creek and Little Yellow Creek. The old Kittanning Path goes through the parkland. The park was established in 1963. An additional ...
, then along the headwaters of Two Lick Creek
Two Lick Creek
Two Lick Creek is a drainage basin measuring approximately , and is the largest tributary of Blacklick Creek, located in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.-External links:*...
, roughly past Uniontown, Pennsylvania (not the current Uniontown
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
), Cookport, and Diamondville to U.S. Highway 422. It followed the approximate present course of the highway west and NNW through Indiana
Indiana, Pennsylvania
Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,895 at the 2000 census.The borough and the region as a whole promotes itself as the "Christmas Tree Capital of the World" because the national Christmas Tree Grower's Association was...
to Shelocta
Shelocta, Pennsylvania
Shelocta is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 127 at the 2000 census. The Keystone Generating Station is located to the west of the borough, in Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.-Geography:...
. It crossed into Armstrong County
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
Armstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,941. It is located northeast of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Armstrong County was added to the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2003.The county seat is Kittanning...
near Elderton
Elderton, Pennsylvania
Elderton is a borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 358 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elderton is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all of it land....
and ended at the village of Kittanning on the west bank of the Allegheny.
History
The path was in use as early as 1721. In 1744 the trader John Hart was granted a license to trade with the Indians on western Pennsylvania lands that were closed at the time to white settlement. Hart established a way station campsite, called Hart's Sleeping Place, near the continental divide in Cambria County. The way station appeared on colonial maps and was used in 1752 by Gov. James HamiltonJames Hamilton (Pennsylvania)
James Hamilton , son of the well-known Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton, was a prominent lawyer and governmental figure in colonial Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.-Life:...
, and in 1754 by John Harris
John Harris, Sr.
John Harris, Sr. emigrated from Britain to America late in the 17th century. Harris would later settle and establish Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, which bears his name today.-Biography:...
, the founder of Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
. The last Native American encampment was recorded at the site in 1781.
In the 1750s the path became the route by which Lenape, unhappy with the treaty that had given away much of their land rights in western Pennsylvania, raided white settlements in central Pennsylvania. In 1755, the Lenape chief Shingas
Shingas
Shingas , was a leader of the Delaware people in the Ohio Country and a noted American Indian warrior on the western frontier during the French and Indian War. Dubbed "Shingas the Terrible" by Anglo-Americans during the war, Shingas led devastating raids against white settlements...
used the trail to attack British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
settlements in the Juniata River
Juniata River
The Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long, in central Pennsylvania in the United States. The river is considered scenic along much of its route, having a broad and shallow course passing through several mountain ridges and steeply-lined water gaps...
, returning with prisoners to the village of Kittanning. In early August 1756, the Lenape used the path to burn Fort Granville
Fort Granville
Fort Granville was a militia stockade located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania. Its site was in what is now Granville Township near Lewistown...
near present-day Lewistown
Lewistown, Pennsylvania
Lewistown is a borough in and the county seat of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies along the Juniata River, northwest of Harrisburg. The number of people living in the borough in 1900 was 4,451; in 1910, 8,166; and in 1940, 13,017. The population was 8,998 at the 2000 census,...
and take prisoners. After the burning of the fort, the British dispatched Lt. Colonel John Armstrong, who pursued the Lenape along the path, camping at Canoe Place in early September before moving on to destroy the village of Kittanning. Armstrong earned the title "the Hero of Kittanning" for the raid, and later went on to serve as a Major General for the United States in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and to serve in the Second Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
.
The path was also traveled by Conrad Weiser
Conrad Weiser
Weiser's colonial service began in 1731. The Iroquois sent Shikellamy, an Oneida chief, as an emissary to other tribes and the British. Shikellamy lived on the Susquehanna River at Shamokin village, near present-day Sunbury, Pennsylvania. An oral tradition holds that Weiser met Shikellamy while...
, who was accompanied by William Franklin
William Franklin
William Franklin was an American soldier and colonial administrator. He served as the last Colonial Governor of New Jersey. Franklin was a steadfast Loyalist throughout the American War of Independence, despite his father Benjamin Franklin's role as one of the most prominent Patriots during the...
, the son of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
. Weiser recorded the journey in his journal.