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                                      The  National  Society  Colonial   Dames  XVII  Century Wilderness Trail Chapter                 

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The Wilderness Trail Chapter Colonial Dames XVII Century was founded November 10, 1980.  Its forty-five members come from across southwest Virginia, and meetings are currently held four times a year in Abingdon, Virginia.  Members of our Society honor the memory of the colonial dames who helped to turn a wilderness into our great country.   Our projects preserve their memory and values and emcompass:

 

                                        1) the preservation of historic sites and records,

                                        2) the promotion of heraldry and research,

                                        3) the support of charitable projects and education.  

 

The earliest origins of the Wilderness Trail for which our chapter is named were the trails created by the great herds of buffalo that once roamed the area.  Native American tribes such as the Cherokee and Shawnee later used the trails to make attacks on each other.  They called the path the Athowominee sometimes translated as The Great Warrior's Path.  In 1673, Shawnee warriors captured a young man named Gabriel Arthur.  Before his release, Arthur became the first white settler known to have crossed through the Cumberland Gap using part of what would become the Wilderness Road.

To visit the website of The National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century click on the following box:

Website last updated August 31, 2018

Sandra Fitzgerald Parsell, Webmaster

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