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Native · 1724 – 1810

Henry Skaggs, Green River long hunter

Maryland-born Henry Skaggs (1724–1810) was among the earliest long hunters through Cumberland Gap—out by 1761 with Elisha Walden, then deeper into the Cumberland and, by 1764, into Kentucky itself.

AI illustration of Henry Skaggs
Henry Skaggs AI illustration · Kentucky History Drive; no known likeness exists

In 1769 he hunted Dix and Green River country with Kasper Mansker, Joseph Drake, and James Knox (the party that found Daniel Boone singing on a deerskin near the Big Barren). Part of the Wilderness Road from Hazel Patch to Crab Orchard still carries his name as Skaggs Trace; in June 1775 he and Valentine Harman guided Col. Thomas Slaughter over Green River land for Henderson’s Transylvania Company. Skaggs Creek in Barren County still marks that range.

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Published . Last revised .

Chicago

Snowden, Shannon. "Henry Skaggs, Green River long hunter." Kentucky History Drive. Published September 12, 2026. Last revised September 12, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/henry-skaggs-green-river-long-hunter/.

MLA

Snowden, Shannon. "Henry Skaggs, Green River long hunter." Kentucky History Drive, published 12 Sept. 2026, last revised 12 Sept. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/henry-skaggs-green-river-long-hunter/.

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