This collection consists of the diaries, journals, and narratives of explorers, emigrants, military men, Native Americans, and travelers. In addition, there are accounts on the development of farming and mining communities, family histories, and folklore. These accounts provide a view of the vast region between Lexington, Kentucky, and Winchester, Virginia, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Birmingham, Alabama, which spans three and a half centuries and provides information on the social, political, economic, scientific, religious and agricultural characteristics of the region.