Nemacolin facts for kids

Nemacolin was an important leader, or Chief, of the Delaware Nation. He lived from about 1715 to 1767. Chief Nemacolin helped a man named Thomas Cresap make a Native American trail wider. This trail went across the Allegheny Mountains all the way to the Ohio River.

Nemacolin's Early Life

Nemacolin was the son of Checochinican, who was also a chief of the Delaware people. He belonged to the Fish Clan of the Turtle tribe. Nemacolin was born around 1715 near Brandywine Creek. This area was close to a Swedish trading post called Fort Christina, which is now Wilmington, Delaware.

In 1726, a treaty was made with William Penn. This agreement meant that different Native American tribes either rented or gave up their land near Brandywine Creek. Nemacolin probably grew up near Shamokin, Pennsylvania. This village was by the Susquehanna River. The Delaware people had moved there because of diseases and new settlements by Europeans on their lands.

Nemacolin's family became friends with a trader named Thomas Cresap. They moved south and west with Cresap's family. This move likely happened after a disagreement between settlers from Maryland and Pennsylvania. This disagreement was known as Cresap's War.

Widening the Path

Around 1750, Thomas Cresap was asked to make a Native American path better. This path went across the Appalachian Mountains through the Cumberland Narrows. Cresap hired Nemacolin and his two sons, along with others, to do this important work.

They worked on the path between Will's Creek and the mouth of Redstone Creek. Will's Creek was a trading post that later became Fort Cumberland. Redstone Creek flowed into the Monongahela River, which is part of the Ohio River. The mouth of Redstone Creek later became Brownsville, Pennsylvania.

A smaller trail from Nemacolin's Path led to the home of Christopher Gist. In 1753 and 1754, Gist guided George Washington along Nemacolin's Path. The path was later improved even more. This allowed supply wagons for General Edward Braddock's army to use it.

General Braddock sadly died on this route in 1755. This happened after a terrible battle called the Battle of the Monongahela. Around 1759, after the war ended, Nemacolin helped mark the path again. This time, it led to the home of James Burd, which became Fort Burd. Another part of the path went to Uniontown, Pennsylvania.

Later Life and Passing

After helping to create these important trails, Nemacolin moved his tribe. They went to an island in the Ohio River called Blennerhassett Island, in what is now West Virginia.

After a peace treaty was signed, Nemacolin spoke up again. He said that William Penn and other settlers had broken their agreements. He felt they had built permanent homes on land that belonged to his tribe. However, his claims were not successful. Chief Nemacolin passed away on Blennerhassett Island in 1767. Soon after, European settlers claimed the land on the island.

Nemacolin's Legacy

After the American Revolution, people could once again settle west of the Allegheny Mountains. Settlers often named the route after General Braddock, not Chief Nemacolin. However, many years later, parts of Nemacolin's Path were used to build the National Road.

Today, there is a statue honoring Chief Nemacolin. It stands at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. This resort was named after the chief in the early 1900s.

A town called Nemacolin, Pennsylvania in Greene County was also named after him. It was a planned community built in the early 1900s around steel factories.

The place known as Nemacolin's Castle in Brownsville might have been visited by Chief Nemacolin. A fireplace there dates back to the late 1700s. Native American people, possibly the Shawnee, lived at this site before. However, the building was known for a long time as Bowman's Castle, named after a family of merchants.