Current Ohio map shows Zane's Trace from Wheeling, West Virginia to Zanesville to Chillicothe and to Maysville, Kentucky |
Zane's Trace
By Rickie Longfellow
Colonel Ebenezer Zane and his brothers followed Native American footpaths to cut the first road from the wilderness in the Northwest Territory in the late 1700s. Colonel Zane, who founded Wheeling, West Virginia, and helped to settle Lancaster, Ohio, appealed to Congress for permission to build a road and in 1796 he received permission, after he had already begun the project. Zane requested and received from the American government, land grants where the Trace crossed the Muskingum, Hocking and Scioto Rivers to pay for his surveying costs. The government, agreed to his request, believing that a major road to be opened in 1797 would bring more settlers to Ohio and therefore increased trade.
Zane's Trace, intermingled with what is now the National Road and Route 40 was the shortest distance between Wheeling and Limestown, Kentucky (presentday Maysville) on the Ohio River. In the early stages, Zane's Trace was wide enough for only a horse and rider but not a wagon. Many of the pioneers used the Rivers for transportation, so Zane built ferries at each of the river crossings. After having built a ferry at the mouth of the Licking River, a small town developed, eventually named Zanesville.
In 1800 the road was widened from Wheeling to Zanesville, but it was steep with deep ruts making travel difficult. But the Trace was the only major road in Ohio until after the War of 1812.
In 1803, after Ohio received its statehood, the state legislature set aside money to improve Zane's Trace and make it accessible by wagon. Trees were cut down to make it 20 feet wide and bridges were built. Soon travel by wagon from Wheeling to Chillicothe was possible. Now travelers began to use the road. Settlements sprang up along the way, with businesses such as taverns and inns that catered to the travelers. Farmers began to use the road to transport their crops to market.
In Lancaster, Ohio Zane's Trace crossed the Hocking River. German settlers used the road for their westward travels, many arriving from Pennsylvania. The Trace provided the way for such a large population of German settlers that by 1809 Lancaster was publishing a Germany language newspaper, Der Ohio Adler.
Ebenezer Zane, beginning with Zane's Trace, played a major role in the social and economic development of Ohio, placing it on the path to statehood.
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