Several years ago I found an old book (written early 1800s) on the migration of early settlers to Middle Tennessee. I do not recall the title/author of the book, but I distinctly remember the descriptions of the trip. Early settlers did, as Mary stated, travel down the Holsten River to the Tennessee River. Then they rafted the full length (several hundred miles) of the Tennessee River to the Ohio River, and down the Ohio to the Cumberland River, thence to Middle Tennessee. This meant that the settlers had to cross TN from S to N, travel through a section of Northern AL, back through TN from S to N, across KY to the Ohio to the Cumberland River - still more than a hundred miles from Nashville. I have never attempted to calculate the mileage, but it was a VERY long trip. The Tennessee Valley Authority on Muscle Shoals Blvd (or Rd/St) in Knoxville could probably provide this information. The book also spoke of the Indians who stalked the settlers along the river banks, killing many of them. If possible, I will provide a reference to the book in a few weeks. Helen Gant Donald