Culbertson's Path was a Native American

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

in north central

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, which connected the

Great Island Path The Great Island Path was a major Native American trail in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that ran from the village of Shamokin (modern-day Sunbury) along the right bank of the West Branch Susquehanna River north and then west to the Great Isl ...

with the

Sheshequin Path The Sheshequin Path was a major Native American trail in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania that ran between two Native American villages: "French Margaret's Town" on the West Branch Susquehanna River (part of modern-day Williamsport in Lycoming Coun ...

. The eastern / southern end of the path was on the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exte ...

at what is now the village of Allenwood in Gregg Township, Union County. The northern / western end was in Old Lycoming Township just north of what is now the city of Williamsport in

Lycoming County Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. ...

. Culbertson's Path followed

White Deer Hole Creek White Deer Hole Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Clinton, Lycoming and Union counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A part of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, the White Deer Hole Creek watershed drains part ...

west from Allenwood, then left to follow Spring Creek north, crossing North White Deer Ridge and

Bald Eagle Mountain Bald Eagle Mountain – once known locally as Muncy Mountain – is a stratigraphic ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of central Pennsylvania, United States, running east of the Allegheny Front and northwest of Mount Nittany. It lies alon ...

and following Mosquito Run to the West Branch Susquehanna River at the modern borough of Duboistown. Here it forded the river at Culbertson's Ripples (approximately the modern location of the Arch Street Bridge). From Allenwood to Spring Creek, Culbertson's Path and the

shared the same trail. The Great Island Path led west to Great Island (modern

Lock Haven Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area, ...

), and paths there led west to the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...

and beyond. After fording the river, Culbertson's Path crossed the

Great Shamokin Path The Great Shamokin Path (also known as the "Shamokin Path") was a major Native American trail in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania that ran from the native village of Shamokin (modern-day Sunbury) along the left bank of the West Branch Susquehan ...

(which also led west to the Great Island and beyond) to the village named "French Margaret's Town" on the west bank of

Lycoming Creek Lycoming Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River located in Tioga and Lycoming counties in Pennsylvan ...

(modern Williamsport). Culbertson's Path then continued north to modern Old Lycoming Township, where it joined the major

, which led north up Lycoming Creek towards the North Branch of the Susquehanna River, modern

New York state New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, and the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

people there. South of Allenwood, there were connections via the Great Island Path to the village of Shamokin (modern Sunbury), as well as the Virginia Road and the Penns Creek and Mahanoy Paths. The path was only wide enough for one person, but the early inhabitants of White Deer Hole valley broadened the trail to DuBoistown to take grain to Culbertson's mill on Mosquito Run (leading them to call it "Culbertson's path"). In 2006, there is still a "Culbertson's Trail", for hiking over North White Deer Ridge and Bald Eagle Mountain from

Pennsylvania Route 554 Pennsylvania Route 554 (PA 554) is a highway which runs for 8 miles (14 km) generally north–south in Lycoming County in north central Pennsylvania in the United States. Its southern terminus is at PA 44 just north of the uninco ...

to Duboistown.{{cite news , author-link = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , author = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , title = Tiadaghton State Forest Map , url = http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/maps/fd12_map.pdf , archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090225131232/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/maps/fd12_map.pdf , url-status = dead , archive-date = February 25, 2009 , format = PDF , access-date = 2006-11-18

References

Native American trails in the United States Historic trails and roads in Pennsylvania Transportation in Union County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Native American history of Pennsylvania