Friday, January 25, 2019

Tri-state boundary

A 1913 photo (according to the writing at bottom) of the markers of the states which join here. Tennessee and Virginia are on the white stone, and for some reason the Kentucky marker is a few yards away.  But they all do have a corner in common somewhere up there.  Which mountain, and what's the town down the hill?

So I wanted to know what the mountain was. And what the town in the distance was.
I stumbled upon the history of these surveyed boundaries.  And of course they go back to when European men decided they wanted to live on Native American's land. And the French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War.  And how kings of England gifted property in the Americas to those who did them favors.

But here's a detailed description of the history, and some great maps. virginiaplaces.org/boundaries/

I am so glad that there's now a national monument, much better than the one depicted above.

 Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, showing the Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky borders meeting.
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8 comments:

  1. eileeninmdJanuary 26, 2019 at 8:23 AM

    Hello, we must have been close to this spot during our Kentucky trip. It is nice to have a monument showing all the borders. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend.

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  2. William KendallJanuary 26, 2019 at 12:12 PM

    I've of course heard of Cumberland Gap, but have never really sought out its location on a map, hence not knowing its significance. There's not too many places where you can step into three states inside of five seconds. The current setup looks fitting for it.

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  3. Vicki LaneJanuary 26, 2019 at 1:16 PM

    Even though the lines are arbitrary, there's something a bit magical about their convergence.

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  4. LoisJanuary 27, 2019 at 1:36 PM

    That is a nice marker, but the old photo is very interesting too.

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  5. Barbara RogersJanuary 27, 2019 at 8:03 PM

    Cumberland Gap has been the route through the mountains to the "western" side where Tennessee and Kentucky were formed, thus most of my ancestors traveled through that route (of whatever name it had before being Anglicized probably). I've been there once, but I think it was before this nice marker was put up.

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  6. John "By Stargoose And Hanglands"January 28, 2019 at 2:32 AM

    I always wondered where Cumberland Gap was ever since I heard the song. There must be hundreds of places where three states, counties or countries meet but some are more celebrated than others. In the UK many county boundaries were places where illegal sporting contests took place, such as bare-knuckle boxing, cock-fighting or badger-baiting - the spectators and those taking illegal bets fleeing to a different county if the police turned up.

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  7. Barbara RogersJanuary 28, 2019 at 9:30 AM

    Hi John, Thanks for telling me about the gambling happening places. I never knew that! Stands to reason!

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  8. LindaJanuary 31, 2019 at 1:22 AM

    I don't think I've been there. It's possible I was there as a child because my parents took us all through Virginia and the surrounding states.

    Can't help think about Daniel Boone!

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