Backcountry Settlement Development and Indian Trails A GIS Land-Grant Analysis

Abstract

During the 18th century, the Southern backcountry underwent both rapid settlement by Europeans and a period of intense urbanization, in contrast to other parts of the South where town building continued to lag. This article examines one Southern backcountry region, the North Carolina Piedmont, and describes the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze spatial and temporal pattern in the 18th-century granting of land in this region in relation to the emergence of towns. The results support the idea that initial conditions, including the presence of indigenous landscape features such as the Indian Trading Path, must be considered to understand town formation in the backcountry.