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Introduction

Road Trip

Internet Resources

Image Gallery

Introduction

     The first great road across the Alleghenies was the Pennsylvania Road.  The initial section of this migratory path  opened in 1755 under the supervision of James Burd, and ran from Harrisburg through Shippensburg to the summit of the Allegheny Ridge.  This road was the principle route used by early settlers as they moved west beyond the Susquehanna River to what are now Franklin, Fulton, and Bedford counties.

     The western section of the Pennsylvania Road is also known as “Forbes Road” because Brigadier General John Forbes extended the route west from Bedford to Fort Duquense (now Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).  In 1758, with the on set of the French and Indian War, it was determined that Fort Duquesne, located at the forks of the Ohio River needed to be attacked and taken from the French.

     At this time 7,000 regular and provincial troops under Forbes began a westward push   from their main stores in Carlisle, Pennsylvania west through Shippensburg, and Chambersburg to Raystown (now Bedford, Pennsylvania).  From here they cut a wagon road over the Allegheny Mountains into the trackless wilderness of western Pennsylvania.  Much of this route traversed the Indians’ “Raystown Path” to about ten miles West of Ligonier. During the construction of the Forbes Road a series of fortifications such as Fort, Loudon, Fort Littleton, Fort Bedford and Fort Ligonier were built to serve as supply depots.

     This migration route was utilized heavily after the Revolutionary War by pioneers seeking new lands opportunities within the newly opened Northwest Territory, which eventually became the states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.  During the 1790’s, the Pennsylvania Legislature granted charters for extending and improving the Pennsylvania Road   westward to Pittsburgh. The State of Pennsylvania subsidized this effort by subscribing to stock in some of the companies.

Map of The Pennsylvania Road

Click on the map to view a full-sized image

     The Pennsylvania Road has also been referred to as the "Old Glade Road."  This is the old-time name of the Youghiogheny division of what was originally known as Burd's or the " Turkey Foot " Road.

Basically the Pennsylvania Road follows Route US 11 southwest out of Harrisburg through Shippensburg to Chambersburg.  At Chambersburg the Road continues along Route US 30 west through Fort Loudon to the town of Bedford.  From Bedford the Road stays on Route US 30 in a more northwesterly direction to Ligonier, and the site of Fort Ligonier.    The remainder of the 18th century migratory route continues on via US 30 through Greensburg to the outskirts of Pittsburgh where it passes near the site of old Fort Duquesne, (aka. Ft. Pitt) at Braddock’s Field. The Pennsylvania Road ends at the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers also known as the “Forks of the Ohio”. 

Road Trip

If you have traced your 18^th or 19^th century ancestors to any of the counties listed below it is quite possible that they traveled to that location along this migration route.  Therefore you may find additional relevant information about your ancestral lineages by taking the following road trip through these localities.

COUNTY (Road Trip Segment)

COUNTY (Road Trip Segment)

COUNTY (Road Trip Segment)

Adams County, PA (1)

Allegheny County, PA (4)

Bedford County, PA (2,3)

Cumberland County, PA (1)

Dauphin County, PA (1)

Franklin County, PA (1,2)

Fulton County, PA (2)

Perry County, PA  (1)

Somerset County, PA (3)

Westmoreland County, PA (4)

York County, PA (1)

Genealogy Road Trip

This “Genealogy Road Trip” is divided into segments that require between 1 and 2 hours of driving time.

The entire 200 mile journey should take approximately 5.00 hours to drive at 40 miles per hour.  Within each segment you will find links to resources* that will assist you in planning a successful and enjoyable experience.  The following maps are designed to show a close-up view of the counties and communities along this migration route.  Relevant county seats are designated with a, beginning and end points of each segment are noted with a  and historical sites with a .

SEGMENT 1

 Harrisburg, PA to Chambersburg, PA

SEGMENT 2

Chambersburg, PA

 to Bedford, PA

SEGMENT 3

Bedford, PA to Ligonier, PA

SEGMENT 4

Ligonier, PA to

Pittsburgh, PA

Segment 1

Harrisburg, PA to Chambersburg, PA

Driving Distance = 50 miles;   Driving Time = approximately 1.00 hours

Click on the map to view a full-sized image

Use the following LINKS to find information about the counties and localities found along this segment of the Route.

General Profile

Genealogy & History Resources

Historical Sites

Segment 2

Chambersburg, PA

 to Bedford, PA

Driving Distance = 51 miles;   Driving Time = approximately 1.00 hours

Click on the map to view a full-sized image

Use the following LINKS to find information about the counties and localities found along this segment of the Route.

General Profile

Genealogy & History Resources

Historical Sites

Segment 3

Bedford, PA to

 Ligonier, PA

Driving Distance = 43 miles;   Driving Time = approximately 1.00 hours

Click on the map to view a full-sized image

Use the following LINKS to find information about the counties and localities found along this segment of the Route.

General Profile

Genealogy & History Resources

Historical Sites

Segment 4

Ligonier, PA to

Pittsburgh, PA

Driving Distance = 47 miles;   Driving Time = approximately 1.00 hours

Click on the map to view a full-sized image

Use the following LINKS to find information about the counties and localities found along this segment of the Route.

General Profile

Genealogy & History Resources

Historical Sites

Internet Resources

The Google search engine

 button  and following web

sites    may     provide    you

with additional information

to assist with your research

about   this   topic. 

·         American Migration Patterns

·         Migration Routes, Roads & Trails

·         Brethren Life: Migrations

·         Trails West

·         Historical U.S. roads and trails - Wikipedia

·         U.S. Historical Maps - Perry-Castañeda Collection

·         Early American Roads and Trails

·         Frontier Trails: A Brief History

·         MIGRATIONS.org

·         ROOTS / MIGRATIONS

·         American Migration Fact Sheets

·         Map guide to American migration routes,1735-1815

·         Migration Book Store

·         Early Migration Routes

·         The Overland Trail Links--Ancient Indian Trails

·         American Westward Expansion

·         Migration Message Boards – Ancestry.com

·         The African-American Migration Experience 

·         Migration Trails – map of many U.S. trails

·         Migration Information & Maps By Ethnic Group

·         The Pennsylvania Road –  map by Beverly Whitaker

·         Migration Trails In Early Pennsylvania

·         Forbes Road (Raystown Path) Shippensburg, Historical Marker

·         Historic Markers - Forbes Road (Raystown Path) PA599

·         The Old Glade (Forbes's) Road - Google Book Search

·         John Forbes (general) - Wikipedia

·        Forbes Road (Raystown Path) Carlisle, PA Historical Marker

Download a free 2-page Fact Sheet

about American migration routes

The following Link will take you to our library of genealogy reference books.   Here you will find books about historic American roads, trails, and paths.  In addition, there are texts that pertain to ethnic and religion groups, history, geography as well as other books that will assist you with your research.

This Link will take you to our

collection of reference books.   

Image Gallery

During our research we have collected images and photographs that are of general interest to a variety of historic American roads, trails and migration.  Some of them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of this topic as well as our ancestors past lives.

Fort Ligonier, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Use this LINK to see the “Image

 Gallery” that pertain to this topic.

Use the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about this topic. This button will link you to the Google Images Search   page.   Enter   the   topic   you   are

searching in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images” display page you will see the image, as well as the website of which it is associated.

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-- This webpage was last updated on --

01 October 2012