The Great Indian (and Wagon) Road
The Great Indian Road, called Philadelphia Wagon Road by many settlers, was developed by Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) warriors traveling in the 1700s through the Great Valley of the Appalachians (which they called Jonontore) from Cohongaronto (north of the Potomac), to raid the Catawba in the Carolinas. In 1743, Iroquois headmen complained that Europeans had settled along the road, a treaty violation. The Lancaster Treaty of 1744 clarified the road’s direction and acknowledged the Iroquois’ right to travel through Frederick County to New River settlements and farther south. This road later brought immigrants to the Valley in Conestoga wagons. Today U.S. Route 11 generally follows the historic road.
Marker is on Martinsburg Pike (U.S. 11) 0.4 miles east of Interstate 81, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
