Wilderness Road State Park facts for kids
Wilderness Road State Park is an awesome state park located in southwestern Virginia. It's found near the famous Cumberland Gap and the town of Ewing. The park covers about 310 acres (which is about 1.25 square kilometers) and is built around parts of the historic Wilderness Road.
Inside the park, you can explore the beautiful Karlan Mansion and a rebuilt version of the old Martin's Station fort.
Contents
Discover Wilderness Road State Park
Explore the Trails
Wilderness Road State Park has some great trails for you to explore! Whether you like to hike, bike, or even ride horses, there's a path for you. Check out the table below to see what each trail offers.
| Name | Length | Difficulty | What you can do | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilderness Road Trail | 8.49 Miles | Easy | Hiking, Biking, and Horseback Riding | All through the park, next to U.S. 58 |
| Indian Ridge Trail | 0.77 Miles | Moderate | Hiking Only | A loop trail, starts off of Route 690 |
A Look Back in Time: History of the Park
This park is full of history! It helps us remember important times when brave settlers moved into new parts of America.
The Famous Wilderness Road
The Wilderness Road was a very important path built by Daniel Boone in 1775. It was the first road that connected the settled areas along the coast with the wild, undeveloped parts of the country. Over 25 years, about 300,000 people used this road to move and settle new lands.
Today, many modern roads follow the original path of the Wilderness Road. But some parts, like the section inside this park, have been kept just as they were, so you can see a piece of history.
Martin's Station Fort
Martin's Station was an old frontier fort. It was first built near a place called Rose Hill, Virginia. This station was made up of several strong cabins. It was the only stop between the very start of the Wilderness Road in Virginia and Crab Orchard in Kentucky. That's a huge distance of about 200 miles!
Historian William Allen Pusey said that Martin's Station was always the "important intermediate station" during the time the Wilderness Road was most used. Today, you can visit a reconstructed version of this fort right inside the park. It's named after Brigadier General Joseph Martin, an early explorer who also has a town named after him: Martinsville, Virginia.
The Karlan Mansion
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The Karlan Mansion is a grand house built around 1870 on a farm owned by Robert M. Ely. Today, people can rent this mansion for special events like weddings.
This large 12-room house was named "Karlan" to honor its previous owners, Karl and Ann Harris. However, many local people still call it "Elydale." This name honors Robert McPherson Ely, who first built the house in 1878 and gave it that name. Sadly, Robert Ely died in 1880 from typhoid fever after going swimming. His wife later remarried in 1885. When a railroad stop was put nearby, a mistake on a map led to the area being called "Caylor, Virginia".
