Indian trails about Springfield

Indian trails about Springfield

Native Americans

Early accounts indicate that Indians were familiar with places often hundreds of miles distant and that they traveled over the same route in coming and going. Indians habitually marched in single file so trails rarely exceed 18 inched in width and they always followed the path of least natural resistance. Many paths were made by deer in their seasonal migrations.

Wright & DeForest

Westfield Athenaeum Archives, Early Maps of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts

Wright & DeForest, Springfield, MA

1636

1911

a page from Early Maps of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts

Original File Size: 9 x 7 in.
JPEG: 2 MB
300 DPI

Oversized, Maps. "Early Maps of the Connecticut Valley"

Early accounts indicate that Indians were familiar with places often hundreds of miles distant and that they traveled over the same route in coming and going. Indians habitually marched in single file so trails rarely exceed 18 inched in width and they always followed the path of least natural resistance. Many paths were made by deer in their seasonal migrations.
These trails were located by documentary evidence on old deeds and land grants.

11 x 13.5" paper