Beaver Creek

Rt. 713 to Harpers Ridge Road



 

The precise route followed by the raiders upon leaving 
Morgan's Station is something of a mystery. The most obvious 
escape route to Ohio would have been down the Licking River to 
the Ohio River. While this was no doubt a well known trail, the 
raiders chose not to take it. It had several disadvantages:
The Licking River flowed into the Ohio River some 80 miles east 
of their intended destination in central Ohio. There was also an 
increased probabilty of encountering white settlers along the 
Licking or Ohio Rivers, and lastly, taking the obvious route 
decreased the odds of eluding the reprisal party that would 
surely be dispatched in pursuit of them.

It is known that the raiders spent the night in the area of 
Hope, Ky., but how they arrived there is unknown. They may have 
left Morgan's Station and fled north along the Licking River as 
a diversionary tactic, and then headed east along Slate Creek.
Slate Creek would have led them directly to the area of Hope. 

Alternatively, they coud have travel overland directly east from 
Morgan's Station to Hope (today's Route 713), but there are no 
creek beds or hollows connecting the two points. The area is open 
pastureland today, but was no doubt heavily wooded in April of 
1793, except for any trees that had been felled for the 
iron smelting furnaces of Morgan's Station.

Locating the trail between Morgan's Station, Hope, Kentucky and 
the trail to/from the east is much easier. Hope, Ky. lies at an 
intermediate point in a substantial north-south creek valley that 
extends uninterrupted for several miles.