We all know America's legendary origins, 13 colonies fighting off the tyranny of the British Empire to form a union.

But did you know that there was, if only for a brief time, an extra-legal 14th colony?

In reality, there were several. Nova Scotia and East and West Florida included, that didn't join the revolution.

But where the borders of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee meet, a colony was created by a private company.

They cleared a path through the mountains, established remote settlements, and lobbied the Continental Congress to join the Union that would eventually become the United States of America.

That colony's name?

Transylvania.

While the name might lead some to believe that vampires are involved, the word Transylvania has little to do with Dracula or Eastern Europe.

It's of Latin origin, merely translating to beyond a pleasant wooded area, which perfectly describes the cut between two mountains that would allow some 300,000 people to journey through the nation's first gateway to the West.

The story of how they would get there, however, is one filled with legendary frontiersmen, a revolution, and near-continuous conflict.

I'm Jason Epperson, and on this episode of Parkography, the Transylvania

Purchase, a land now part of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. More in a moment, but first,

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In the early 1700s, the Allegheny Mountains were the greatest obstacle for settlers aspiring to move west.

That changed when in 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker, a Virginian physician and explorer, found a cut between two of the peaks, securing a cross that would, for centuries to come, allow for safe passage

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