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Intro by Ron Smith....
The Shawnee Living History Trail was started in 1991 with the simple idea that living history was more appealing to children than reading history in a book. There was also a need for exposing local history(south western West Virginia) of the 1700's time period to the general public. This was the time when when the Shawnee were being pushed from their homes in Ohio and thus their hunting grounds in Kentucky and (West) Virginia.
The Trail is set in the late 1770's near the end of the Revolutionary War. While the Continental Armies are fighting the British back east, the frontiersmen are fighting with the Shawnee over the rights to these lands. 4th and 8th grade WV history students are led on an expedition in search of land. The trail begins in a small settlement on the fringes of the frontier. The settlement is protected by the local militia and the settlers are relatively safe from the indians. The students are led on their expedition by an officer of the militia. He will guide the the group towards the mouth of the Guyandotte River where they will find land to settle. It is an extremely dangerous mission as the group is traveling through the middle of the Shawnee's hunting lands. Along the way the students meet some of the people who first settled this land. Before reaching their destination the interlopers are turned back by the fury of a Shawnee raiding party led by Simon Girty. The group returns to the settlement unharmed and i told that they must wait until the struggle for independance is won before they will be able to setlle the land. Upon returning to the settlement the group is allowed to interact with the people in the settlement. Sometimes we have traders, trappers, a gunsmith, blacksmith, tanner, and other interesting people.
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