Bullitt County History

Wilderness Road in Bullitt/Jefferson Counties

From his research, Robert McDowell became an authority on the location of the Wilderness Road as it passed through Bullitt and Jefferson Counties on its way to the Falls of the Ohio River. He wrote about the road in 1962 for The Courier-Journal Magazine and again later in 1967 for The Louisville Magazine.

The following map is constructed by using Mr. McDowell's statements in those two writings, and what he had to say in his comments to the Filson Club about Bullitt's Lick and the other settlements of Bullitt County.

The map shows the approximate path of the Wilderness Road, and marks specific places along the trace with special significance. You may locate the places listed to the right of the map by hovering the cursor over the place name. Clicking on the place name will bring up a cloud window with additional information.

Note: Because of the nature of the layout of this page, it will not be suitable for viewing on a smaller screen. We apologize for the inconvenience.


If you, the reader, have an interest in any particular part of our county history, and wish to contribute to this effort, use the form on our Contact Us page to send us your comments about this, or any Bullitt County History page. We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you feel that we have misspoken at any point, please feel free to point this out to us.

The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 12 Jan 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/wr/wrmap.html