The document discusses the early explorers of Tennessee and Kentucky who passed through the Cumberland Gap in the late 1700s. It describes Thomas Walker's expedition in 1750 that passed through the Gap and constructed the first cabin in Kentucky. It then discusses the long hunters who followed Walker's path, such as Daniel Boone, who helped settle Kentucky by leading settlers along the Wilderness Road through the Gap between 1775-1810. It also describes William Bean as the first permanent white settler in Tennessee and Thomas Sharpe Spencer as the first to reach middle Tennessee in the late 1700s.

1. Bell Ringer
Answer the following questions on your note sheet:
What characteristics that would become known as uniquely "American" did the early
explorers ofTennessee and Kentucky possess?
Why was it important for them to have these characteristics?

2. West of the Appalachians
EssentialQuestion:Who were the people that first explored the land west of the
Appalachian Mountains?

3. ▪ In 1750, Dr.ThomasWalker was appointed to lead an
expedition into southwesternVirginia.
▪ OnApril 13, his party of six men entered the Cumberland
Gap.
▪ Cumberland Gap-a narrow passage through the
Appalachian Mts. near the intersection of Kentucky,
Virginia, andTennessee.
▪ His party constructed a cabin which was the first house
built by white men in Kentucky.
▪ Difficulties recorded byWalker in his journal: lame
horses, bad weather, wild animals, and bad terrain.
▪ Upon his return toVirginia, his journal and maps enticed
others to make the trip through the Cumberland Gap.

4. ▪ After Walker returned toVirginia, many longhunters
followed his path through the Cumberland Gap.
▪ Long Hunters-men that would take hunting trips into
Kentucky andTennessee that would last for several
months, sometimes more than a year.
▪ The purpose of these hunts was to gather furs and
animal hides as well as to learn all they could about the
land.
▪ Hunts generally started in October and ended in late
March or early April.
▪ Hunting parties consisted of 20-40 men. Once they set
up a base camp, they would split into smaller groups of
2-3 men to hunt.
▪ The reason for the smaller groups was so they would not
scare away animals and so they would not attract
attention from Indians.
▪ The most famous Long Hunter was Daniel Boone.

6. ▪ Daniel Boone was born in 1734 in Pennsylvania, and
moved to North Carolina as a child with his family.
▪ Fought in the French and IndianWar.
▪ He served two terms in theVirginiaGeneralAssembly.
▪ Made his first hunting trip through the Cumberland Gap
in 1769.
▪ In 1773, he tried to settle in Kentucky with his family, but
was forced out by Cherokee Indians. Boone's son was
killed in the attack.
▪ Boone was hired by theTransylvaniaCompany to led an
expedition into Kentucky.
▪ The goal of theTransylvaniaCompany was to establish
Kentucky as the 14th colony.

7. ▪ In March 1775, Boone led a group of men from near
present-day Kingsport,TN through the Cumberland
Gap.
▪ The men cleared a path wide enough for wagons to
travel.This became known as theWilderness Road.
▪ Between 1775-1810, approximately 300,000 settlers
entered Kentucky using the Wilderness Road.
▪ Boone established the first settlement in Kentucky. Fort
Boonesboro is located just south of Lexington.
▪ Boone continued his westward hunting trips and
eventually made his way to Missouri.
▪ Boone died on September 26, 1820 at the age of 85 from
natural causes.
▪ Over forty years later, his body was moved from
Missouri to Kentucky.

8. ▪ William Bean was the first permanent
white settler in what is now the state of
Tennessee.
▪ He was given 3,000 acres of land by the
state of North Carolina for his service in the
RevolutionaryWar.
▪ He chose a piece of land near present day
Bean Station,TN that he had first seen on a
hunting trip with Daniel Boone.
▪ Bean Station became a stopping point for
those moving westward.
▪ Russell Bean,William's son, was the first
white child born in the state ofTennessee.

9. ▪ Thomas Sharpe Spencer is the first known white man to
reach middleTennessee.
▪ Spent 1776-spring 1779 hunting on the Cumberland Plateau.
▪ While there, he staked out land, planted it,and built cabins.
▪ He returned in the winter of 1779 with a group of settlers
and established the first Cumberland settlement.
▪ Spencer fought many battles with the local Indians and was
once shot in the arm.
▪ He was ambushed and shot to death in 1794 in what is now
Van Buren County.
▪ The county seat ofVan Buren County is named Spencer in
his honor.
▪ His toughness is exhibited by the fact the he spent the
winter of 1778-79 living by himself in a hollow sycamore
tree.

11. Summarizer
You Make the Quiz
Each person will write two true/false questions based on today's lesson. Randomly
chosen people will then quiz the rest of the class.

12. Extension Activity
▪ Draw a map of the areas explored and settled by the Long Hunters. It should include:
The CumberlandGap,TheWilderness Road, Kingsport, Boonesboro, Bean Station, and theCumberland
Plateau.
Include a short summary of why each of these locations is important and who was the person from
todays lesson that is associated with each location.