The 250th anniversary of the Boone Trace, Daniel Boone’s historic 1775 journey blazing the first road into Kentucky, is being celebrated with a relay hike carrying an 18th-century style axe with several events along the way.

The relay kicked off on April 23 in Kingsport, Tennessee and is now making its way through Virginia on the way to the Tri-State area. Tams will hike roughly 10 miles daily, symbolically passing the axe along the way to Fort Boonesborough, Kentucky, just southeast of Lexington.

On Friday, May 9, the axe will arrive at Wilderness Road State Park in Virginia, just in time for the park’s America’s First Frontier Weekend. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. visitors can experience what life was like at Martin’s Station, Virginia’s final point of rest and resupply. They can meet the famed individuals traverse the trace and the indigenous peoples they encounter as well as finding wares of all types among the merchants and tradesmen.

On Saturday, May 10, the axe will arrive at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park for “Blazing Trails and Tall Tales: Boone Trace 250 Years Later.” A highlight of this event will be the axe exchange ceremony in the Saddle of the Gap. The axe will be on display at the park’s visitor center through Sunday.

The city of Middlesboro will be having a special celebration of its own on Monday, May 12. A delegation of relay hikers led by Mayor Boone Bowling will receive the axe near the national park visitor center at 8 a.m.and make their way into the city. The Middlesboro High School Band will join the march down Cumberland Avenue as it heads to the Bell County Historical Society Museum.

At 9 a.m. a special ceremony will be held passing the axe on the museum steps followed by a special program at First Presbyterian Church next door. The MHS band and MHS choir will be performing along with an assortment of guest speakers. Fifth and eighth grade social studies students from Middlesboro Middle School will showcase projects related to the historical event. After the ceremony, the museum will be open for tours and a light brunch starting at 10 a.m.

At 11 a.m., the axe relay hikers will continue on their way toward the historic Cumberland Ford and Narrows Gap in Pineville.

On May 13, the Pineville celebration kicks off with a reception at the historic Bell Theater at 3 p.m. —come meet the hikers and show your support as they retrace the footsteps of early pioneers.

At 4 p.m., hikers will set off on a community walk from the theater to the “Bunny Bread Building” at the historic Cumberland Ford. Along the way, they’ll explore the legacy of this natural river crossing—once a vital gateway for Daniel Boone and countless pioneers heading west.

At the Cumberland Ford, Pineville Mayor Shawn Fugate will offer a warm welcome and share a few words about the significance of this landmark in Kentucky’s frontier history.

From there, the axe will continue its relay along the Boone Trace, ending on June 7 at Fort Boonesborough with a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the settling of Kentucky.