Wyalusing Path

Last updated February 24, 2019

The Wyalusing Path or trail was a historical trace that ran from what is now Wyalusing to the Native American village of Canaserage (now Muncy) in Pennsylvania in the United States. Wyalusing is on the east bank of the North Branch of the Susquehanna River in Bradford County and Muncy is on the east bank of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Lycoming County, so the path provided a short cut between the two main branches of the Susquehanna River. The alternative and much longer route was to follow the North Branch south from Wyalusing to the confluence with the West Branch at the Native village of Shamokin (now Sunbury, Pennsylvania), then north up the West Branch to Muncy.

A trail is usually a path, track or unpaved lane or road. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland path or footpath is the preferred term for a walking trail. The term is also applied, in North America, to routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the US, the term was historically used for a route into or through wild territory used by emigrants. In the USA "trace" is a synonym for trail, as in Natchez Trace. Some trails are single use and can only be used for walking, cycling, horse riding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing; others, as in the case of a bridleway in the UK, are multi-use, and can be used by walkers, cyclists and equestrians. There are also unpaved trails used by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles and in some places, like the Alps, trails are used for moving cattle and other livestock.

Wyalusing, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Wyalusing is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 596 at the 2010 census.

Native Americans, also known as American Indians, Indigenous Americans and other terms, are the indigenous peoples of the United States, except Hawaii. There are over 500 federally recognized tribes within the US, about half of which are associated with Indian reservations. The term "American Indian" excludes Native Hawaiians and some Alaska Natives, while Native Americans are American Indians, plus Alaska Natives of all ethnicities. Native Hawaiians are not counted as Native Americans by the US Census, instead being included in the Census grouping of "Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander".

On leaving Wyalusing, the path went south a short distance, then forded the Susquehanna River near the Moravian village of Friedenshütten. It followed Sugar Run Creek upstream, climbed Bartlett Mountain, and crossed into what is now Sullivan County near the modern-day village of Colley in Colley Township. The Wyalusing Path climbed Dutch Mountain (coming near or crossing into Wyoming County), then passed between the headwaters of Loyalsock Creek and Mehoopany Creek in Sullivan County. The exact course of the path is less clear here, but it encountered Muncy Creek near its source in Sullivan County and followed it to it mouth at Canaserage (Muncy).

A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. A low water crossing is a low bridge that allows crossing over a river or stream when water is low but may be covered by deep water when the river is high.

Moravian Church Protestant Christian denomination dating back to 15th century

The Moravian Church, formally named the Unitas Fratrum, in German known as [Herrnhuter] Brüdergemeine, is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in the world, with its heritage dating back to the Bohemian Reformation in the 15th century and the Unity of the Brethren established in the Kingdom of Bohemia.

Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,428, making it the second-least populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Laporte. The county was created on March 15, 1847, from part of Lycoming County and named for Charles C. Sullivan, leader of the Pennsylvania Senate at that time.

Much of what we know about the Wyalusing Path comes from travelers' accounts of it. In May 1772, Samuel Harris had to ford Muncy Creek twenty times following the path. In June 1772, Moravian Bishop John Ettwein led a group of some 200 Lenape and Mohican Christians from their village of Friedenshütten (Cabins of Peace) west along the Wyalusing Path to Muncy, fording Muncy Creek thirty six times along the way. At Muncy they took the Great Shamokin Path and others to their new village of Friedensstadt (City of Peace) on the Beaver River in southwestern Pennsylvania.^[1]

A bishop is an ordained, consecrated, or appointed member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight.

The Lenape, also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in Canada and the United States. Their historical territory included present-day New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania along the Delaware River watershed, New York City, western Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley. Today, Lenape people belong to the Delaware Nation and Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma; the Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Wisconsin; and the Munsee-Delaware Nation, Moravian of the Thames First Nation, and Delaware of Six Nations in Ontario.

Christian usually refers to:

The trail crosses some of the roughest terrain in northeast Pennsylvania, but provided a major transit route for Native American populations.

Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle. The Commonwealth is bordered by Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to the northwest, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east.

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Lewis Township is a township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,139 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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West Branch Susquehanna River river in Pennsylvania, United States

The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the extension of the main branch, with the shorter West Branch being its principal tributary. The West Branch, which is 243 miles (391 km) long, is entirely within the state of Pennsylvania, draining a large mountainous area within the Allegheny Plateau in the western part of the state. Along most of its course it meanders along mountain ridges and through water gaps, forming a large zigzag arc through central Pennsylvania around the north end of the Allegheny Ridge. In colonial times the river provided an important water route to the Ohio River valley. In the 18th century, its lower valley became a significant industrial heartland of Pennsylvania. In the 20th century, the upper reaches of the West Branch turned a yellow/orange color due to sulfurous drainage from nearby and abandoned deep bituminous coal mines.

Little Muncy Creek is the major tributary of Muncy Creek in Lycoming and Sullivan Counties, Pennsylvania, United States. Via Muncy Creek and the West Branch Susquehanna River, it is part of the Susquehanna River drainage basin and waters from it flow ultimately into the Chesapeake Bay.

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References

↑ Wallace, Paul A.W. (1987). Indian Paths of Pennsylvania (Fourth Printing ed.). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. pp. 188–190. ISBN 0-89271-090-X. (Note: ISBN refers to 1998 impression.)

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[path-1] Wallace, Paul A.W. (1987). Indian Paths of Pennsylvania (Fourth Printing ed.). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. pp. 188–190. ISBN 0-89271-090-X. (Note: ISBN refers to 1998 impression.)