Western Settlement

The Pre-War Frontier

The Appalachian Ridge (the Eastern Continental Divide) was the limit of white settlement until 1768, when the Treaty of Fort Stanwix set the Ohio River as the new Indian boundary. Shawnee and Mingo resistance prevented most trans-Appalachian migration until 1775.

"Pennsylvania Germans in the Virginia Line" (Gabe Neville, RV) Pennsylvania Dutch settlement extended southwest into the Shenandoah Valley, changing Virginia and producing many soldiers for the Revolutionary War. Gabe Neville presents to the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum.

Early Settlement of Kentucky

“Initial Land Acquisition in Kentucky” (Neal O. Hammon, KY.gov) How the earliest Kentucky settlers got title to their land.

“Pioneers and Profiteers: Land Speculation and the Homestead Ethic in Frontier Kentucky” (Stephen Aron, Western Historical Quarterly) Winners and losers in the unruly race for Kentucky land.

Veterans and Virginia Bounty Land

"The New Dominion: Virginia's Bounty Land" (Gabe Neville, RV) Virginia organized three land reserves for distribution to its veterans. It was the only compensation many soldiers ever received. The reserves are now in the states of Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.

“Before Kentucky: Croghan and the Clarks in the Revolution” (Gabe Neville, RV) William Croghan and brothers Jonathan and George Rogers Clark performed important military service before moving to Kentucky.

“The 8th Virginia and Kentucky" (Gabe Neville, Kentucky History Channel) Gabe Neville returns to the Kentucky History Channel to tell stories of the 8th Virginia in the war and postwar Kentucky.