Timeline story
John Finley, the Trader Who Put Kentucky on Boone’s Map
Long before Wilderness Road fame, Pennsylvania-born trader John Finley (also Findley) was crossing the Alleghenies for furs.
Around 1752 he reached Eskippakithiki, the Shawnee town in today’s Clark County, one of the earliest recorded Euro-American trading trips into central Kentucky. Years later, as a Braddock-campaign acquaintance of Daniel Boone, he returned to the Yadkin with stories of cane-rich hunting grounds beyond Cumberland Gap. In May 1769 he guided Boone’s party through that gap; Finley’s firsthand routes—not Boone alone—helped open the country settlers would soon claim.
Cite this story
Published . Last revised .
Chicago
Snowden, Shannon. "John Finley, the Trader Who Put Kentucky on Boone’s Map." Kentucky History Drive. Published September 24, 2026. Last revised September 24, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/john-finley-the-trader-who-put-kentucky-on-boones-map/.
MLA
Snowden, Shannon. "John Finley, the Trader Who Put Kentucky on Boone’s Map." Kentucky History Drive, published 24 Sept. 2026, last revised 24 Sept. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/john-finley-the-trader-who-put-kentucky-on-boones-map/.
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