Ebenezer Zane (1747-1811) was an American pioneer and land speculator. Born in what is now Moorefield, West Virginia (which was then in the state of Virginia), Zane established the settlement known as Fort Henry in Wheeling, Virginia on the Ohio River. Zane is also famous for blazing the trail known as Zane's Trace .
At Fort Henry
Zane headed west with his brothers Silas and Jonathan Zane from Moorefield and established Fort Henry in 1769. From 1777 to 1782, during the American Revolution, Zane and his brothers defended Fort Henry against Native American attacks. Zane's sister Elizabeth is known for her courage during one of these Native American attacks: she ran out of the fortress walls to retrieve a badly-needed keg of powder.
Building Zane's Trace
Following the war in 1796, Zane obtained permission and funds from Congress to build a road through the Northwest Territory. In exchange for his work, Congress granted Zane tracts of land in the areas where the road intersected the Muskingum, Hocking, and Scioto rivers.
When Zane's Trace was completed, it stretched crossed what is now the state of Ohio from Wheeling, Virginia to Maysville, Kentucky. Although the road was a rudimentary path and was only suitable for travel by foot or horseback (and not by wagon), it was the only major road in Ohio until the War of 1812.
Zane established a number of towns along Zane's Trace, among these were Zanesville, Ohio and Lancaster, Ohio. He died of jaundice in 1811.
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Last updated: 07-30-2005 18:17:13
