The First Explorations of the Trans-Allegheny Region by the Virginians, 1650-1674

The Trans-Allegheny Region, which is located in the northeastern portion of the United States, is an area that includes the Allegheny Mountains (part of the Appalachians) which stretch from Pennsylvania down through Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. At the time this work was published in 1912, the authors, Alvord and Bidgood, lamented in their Preface, that, After the brilliant researches of Francis Parkman and Justin Winsor, it is remarkable that a new chapter in the history of the explorations of North America has remained so long unwritten; yet the story of the discovery of the Trans-Allegheny region by the Virginians is here first told in its entirety. Since the success of these early enterprises has been doubted and frequently denied by our best historians, [our] attempt to piece together the story from the scattered sources and to determine its truth needs no excuse. The results of their efforts and sourcing are well documented within this volume and include the Discovery of the Ohio Waters, the Discovery of New Brittaine, the Discoveries of John Lederer, Governor Berkeley’s promotion of exploration, the Expedition of Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam, the Journeys of James Needham and Gabriel Arthur, and the Expeditions of Abraham Wood. Bibliography and Index are provided at the end of the work.