"Trammel's Trace -- first road to Texas from the North" the distinction between "trail" and "trace" is, to me, still a vague one.
I classify a "trail" as a distinct, established, possibly well-marked and well-worn path.
And, I classify a "trace" as a "used route" that shifts location according to conditions (avoiding muddy spots, fallen trees, etc).
For example, there are several places where Trammel's Trace has both a meandering upland "wet season" route -- paralleling a more direct, lowland, "dry season" route -- sometimes with as much as a mile between the two branches... We've also determined that Trammel's Trace tends to divert from a direct route to pass by good, all-weather sources of water, like springs.
I tend to suspect that our local "traces" followed routes that were used earlier as animal migration routes...
FWIW, that historical marker represents four years of my archæological and historical research in that general area -- including the re-discovery of the "lost" townsite of "Old Unionville" that formed from a travelers' campground at the junction of "Trammel's Trace" and the earlier "Spanish/Mexican Trace".
On the map at HERE, you'll see the location of "Old Unionville" at the "Y"near the top. The historical marker is about a mile to the northeast from that point -- on Trammel's Trace, of course.
As to buffalo in PA, all I can suggest is that perhaps changes in environmental conditions once included your area in the bisons' (or, perhaps B. Antiquus') range...
Hope this is helpful!
TXnMA
(Follow-up FReepMail is forthcoming...)
