Walker’s Line, named after the Virginia representative Dr. Thomas Walker (1714-1794), was a way to extend the boundaries of North Carolina, Virginia, and also extend the boundary into Tennessee and Kentucky at the 36 and 30 degree latitudes in the year 1779. Also representing Virginia in the debate was Daniel Smith; the North Carolina representatives were Col. Richard Henderson and William Bailey Smith. The line the surveyors followed was inaccurate and as a result the line ended a little short of the Tennessee River. Ever since the line’s creation, North Carolina and Virginia have had numerous debates over the “real” boundary of the states.

Dr. Thomas Walker was an early American explorer. Having the distinguished profession of doctor, he was a wealthy man who liked to travel to the unexplored regions of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Daniel Smith (1748-1818) was the surveyor and friend during the Walker’s Line creation and was the first man to make a map of Tennessee. Col. Richard Henderson (1735-1785) was an explorer and founder of Henderson, KY. William Bailey Smith (1737/38-1818) was a surveyor and an important figure for the early settlement of Kentucky.

William Wirt was born in Bladensburg, Maryland on November 8, 1772. He married Mildred Gilmer in 1795. Gilmer’s family was very close to Thomas Jefferson and Jefferson took a liking to Wirt and made him a lawyer for the Democratic Republican Party. In 1800, Wirt became a clerk for Virginia’s House of Delegates in which he transcribed all the proceeding therein. All of William’s experience in government paid off in 1807 when he was appointed to the position of prosecuting attorney under President Jefferson. In 1817, William Wirt received the position of Attorney General under President Monroe, which he is mostly well-known for. He also worked in John Quincy Adam’s cabinet and continued practicing law in Baltimore, MD. Wirt passed away on February 18, 1834.