BURKHALTER ROAD & OLD INDIAN TRAIL

    Burkhalter Road is named for the Burkhalter family (formerly spelled Burgholser), a Salzburger family that immigrated to the American colonies. In 1768, Rudolph Burkhalter was granted 400 acres of land on the south bank of the Ogeechee River where it intersected an important Indian trading path.

    This Indian path was part of a network of ancient transportation routes stretching from modern day North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico. These footpaths often developed along natural animal trails, connected Indian villages to each other, and were used for trade, war, and access to resources such as rivers,  game, and minerals like salt and flint.

    In addition, Indians tended to avoid travel through rough or difficult terrain. Thus, the trails followed ridges and drainage divides to avoid crossing rivers and marshes wherever possible. When a river had to be crossed, the trail led to rocky shoals or shallow  points where fording would be easiest.

    This trail was unique in the region because, unlike most other Indian trails that ran in an east-west direction and connected inland communities to the coast, this trail cut across the interior, thereby crossing a number of rivers. The earliest reference to a

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