In 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker strode into the wilderness. He was looking for land on which to build a settlement, and he wanted that land to be on the western side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. But first he had to get there. He’d heard of the pass that the Native Americans used, but no one had yet marked it on any maps. Dr. Walker intended to change that. His explorations ultimately disappointed him, but importantly, he had recorded the Cumberland Gap for all who followed.