Located near Weber City, VA the Homeplace Mountain Farm is comprised of 14 original log structures from the late 1770s on a 15-acre farm, which was once part of Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Trail. The first white settlers arrived in Scott County in 1769. The Wilderness Road was blazed by Daniel Boone in the 1770’s following the buffalo trace/Indian warpath which began at the Anderson Blockhouse just east of Moccasin Gap, the gateway to the west. Moccasin Gap is one of two ground level water gaps leading from the Great Valley of Virginia into the interior of the Alleghenies. The Great Warrior’s Path, which became The Wilderness Road, made passage through this Gap. You are literally standing in the footsteps of Daniel Boone and thousands of settlers that past through this land as they made their way towards new opportunities in the Western frontier.
The main Indian trail connecting Cherokee Country of the Great Smoky Mountains with that of the Shawnee in Ohio ran through Moccasin Gap toward the Big Sandy River. The 1770 Treaty of Lochaber line, better known as the Donaldson Indian Line, began at Moccasin Gap and ran to Point Pleasant on the Kanawha River. Settlers pouring through Moccasin Gap on the Wilderness Trail toward Kentucky in violation of the Lochaber treaty led the Shawnee to start Lord Dunmore’s War in 1774. During the 1777-1794 Cherokee Wars, Moccasin Gap was a favorite site used by the Cherokee, commonly led by Chief Benge, to ambush settlers using the Trail.
Today the Homeplace is a collection of authentic structures and artifacts that have been assembled here from their original locations throughout Scott County. Each building has been carefully taken down and reassembled on site. The Homeplace brings to life the chores and challenges of surviving rugged mountain living with quilting, blacksmithing, weaving, pottery and broom-making demonstrations during the Summer and Fall.
Boone’s Point Cabins are also located on the Homeplace Farm grounds and will be opening in the Summer of 2010.
This cache has been started with maps of Scott County, VA. Please take only one map per caching family. The maps are actually the first to find prize as well. If you take a map from this cache we would like for you to replace it with a map (preferably from the State where you live, if you have one). Enjoy the hunt and Happy Caching!