The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

became the roadbed for a rail line following the same course. Encouraged by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, the canal project was begun in 1785 as the James River Company, and later restarted under the James River and Kanawha Canal Company. It was an expensive project which failed several times financially and was frequently damaged by floods. Though largely financed by the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

through the

Virginia Board of Public Works The Virginia Board of Public Works was a governmental agency which oversaw and helped finance the development of Virginia's transportation-related internal improvements during the 19th century. In that era, it was customary to invest public funds ...

, it was only half completed by 1851, reaching Buchanan, in Botetourt County. When work to extend it further west stopped permanently,

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s were overtaking the canal as a far more productive mode of transportation. After the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

funds for resuming construction were unavailable from either the war-torn Commonwealth or private sources and the project did poorly against railroad competition, finally succumbing to damage done by massive flooding in 1877. In the end its right-of-way was bought and the canal was largely dismantled by the new Richmond and Alleghany Railroad, which laid tracks on the former towpath. The R&A became part of the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Rich ...

in the 1890s, which developed much of the former canal route into an important line for West Virginia

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

headed eastbound for the

Peninsula Extension The Peninsula Extension which created the Peninsula Subdivision of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was the new railroad line on the Virginia Peninsula from Richmond to southeastern Warwick County. Its principal purpose was to provide ...

to reach the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

coal pier A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship. The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into ...

s at Newport News for worldwide export aboard large colliers.

Planning a route

The James River and Kanawha Canal was a project first proposed by George Washington when he was a young man surveying the mountains of western Virginia, which at the time consisted of what is today

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and to the north bank of the

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

river. He was searching for a way to open a water route to the West. He believed that was the key to helping Virginia become an economic powerhouse in what would emerge as the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

quite a few years later. In those times, waterways were the major highways of commerce. Early developments along the east coast of the colonies tended to end at the

Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...

(the

head of navigation The head of navigation is the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships. Determining the head of navigation can be subjective on many streams, as the point may vary greatly with the size or the draft of the ship b ...

) of the rivers that emptied into its great bays (e.g., the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and the Chesapeake). Such early communities in Virginia included what we now know as

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

on the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

, Fredericksburg on the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...

, Richmond and Lynchburg on the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

and Petersburg on the

Appomattox River The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in central and eastern Virginia, named for the ...

. It was known by then that the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

flowed into the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, which flowed into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. It was also known that the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

formed the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a drainage divide, hydrological divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard drainage basin, watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico wat ...

, and that there was apparently no inland waterway to sail between the two large watersheds. By 1772, Washington had identified the Potomac and James rivers as the most promising locations for canals to be built to join with the western rivers. His preference was the James, as the Potomac led to rivers in land disputed with

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and would be equally helpful to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The James could be aligned with the

Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its watershed has been a significant industrial region of th ...

(in what is now

), and would best serve only Virginia, which was his priority. In 1785, the James River Company was formed, with former Revolutionary War Commander in Chief George Washington as honorary president, to build locks around the falls at Richmond. By then, Washington was quite busy with the affairs of the new nation, in 1789 being elected its first president.

Construction

Promoted by such men as George Washington,

Edmund Randolph Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, and the seventh Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to cre ...

, and

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

, the James River Company opened in 1790 as the first commercial canal in the United States. Stretching from

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

to Westham, Virginia and paralleling the James for , it supplemented existing bateaux transportation on the James River. These flat-bottomed boats floated down the James to Richmond laden with

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

hogsheads and returned with French and English imports, furniture, dishes, and clothing. In addition to bateaux, many canal boats were packets, which drew more water than the smaller bateaux. Mules and horses pulled the packets along the towpaths. Locks were necessary at points where the river had rapids. The

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

each slowed construction. Work was slow, expensive, and very labor-intensive through the rocky terrain of Virginia's

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region, a transitional area between the sandy

coastal plain A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area. Formation Coastal plains can f ...

and the mountains. The early congregation of St. Peters Church in Richmond consisted mostly of Irish immigrants who worked on the canal. After many of the original Irish laborers died of hypothermia, they were replaced by enslaved Africans hired from plantation owners who lived near the route of the canal. After work stalled for a number of years the canal company went broke and gave up. In 1820, the Commonwealth of Virginia took control of the project and with state funds provided through the

resumed construction. Work stalled yet again, then resumed in 1835 under the new James River and Kanawha Company, with Judge Benjamin Wright as Chief Engineer. He was assisted by his son Simon Wright, Charles Ellet Jr., and Daniel Livermore. By 1840, the canal was completed to Lynchburg. Service was inaugurated by

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

who was elected president that same year. In 1847, Walter W. Gwynn was hired as Chief Engineer, with Edward Lorraine as his assistant. The canal eventually extended west of Richmond to Buchanan by 1851. There, the plan was to link it to the James River and Kanawha Turnpike to provide passage through the most rugged portions of the mountains. The goal was to reach the Kanawha River at its head of navigation, about east of today's

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

. The portage necessary made competition with railroads along the same route a real threat. Construction of a planned railroad there was delayed by the

. However, both war damage and interruption in the flow of commerce along the canal did great harm to it.

Competition with railroads

Railroads began to emerge as a more efficient form of transportation in the 1830s, midway in the canal's construction. In spite of the appointment of former Confederate general Armistead Lindsay Long as Chief Engineer following his service in the Civil War (1861–1865), damage which the canal incurred during the conflict was never completely repaired. By the time the

was built through to the Ohio River in 1873, the canal's fate was clear. The James River and Kanawha Canal Company was authorized in 1876 to build the Buchanan and Clifton Forge Railway to connect the westernmost point of the canal with the C&O. The Virginia General Assembly, in 1878, gave the James River and Kanawha Company the right to contract with the Buchanan and Clifton Forge Railroad for Convict Labor. However both the canal and the Buchanan and Clifton Forge Railway were sold to the Richmond and Allegheny Railroad company, which built tracks along the towpaths. That railroad was sold to the C&O, establishing Clifton Forge as the division point of the large east-to-west system that resulted when the pioneer railroads were combined under the Chesapeake and Ohio. Today, CSX trains loaded with coal from the mountains follow the old canal route, much of it at a gentler "water level" grade, headed to port at Newport News at Hampton Roads. The

Buckingham Branch Railroad Buckingham Branch Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad operating over 275 miles (443 km) of historic and strategic trackage in Central Virginia. Sharing overhead traffic with CSX and Amtrak, the company's headquarters are in Dill ...

, a

short-line railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...

, has a lease to operate the original C&O alignment over the former Virginia Central Railroad, including the Mountain Subdivision.

Legacy

Richmond canal walk

In the second half of the 20th century, portions of the old canal, locks and turning basins became the source of renewed interest in Richmond, Lynchburg and at other points along the line. As part of Richmond's revival and redevelopment of its waterfront, a portion of the canal was restored. The James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971. The

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

included one contributing building, nine contributing sites, and 21 contributing structures. Today boat rides are featured along a Canal Walk which extends for parallel to both the old Haxall Canal and James River and Kanawha canal. an
''Accompanying photo at Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, undated''
an
Accompanying map outlining district
/ref> Several historical exhibits about the canals and the City of Richmond are dispersed along the way. Visitors can also visit the Three-Mile Locks at Pump House Park, located behind the

Carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

in William Byrd Park. This park is located three upstream from the canal's turning basin. It contains parts of the old 18th century locks, lockkeeper's house, the City's historic 1883 water pumping station originally called the New Pump-House, and its replacement, the 1924 pumping station. The City is working on plans to return the Pump House to some form of public use by restoring its old dance floor (the original upper level was built for public events) and opening the oldest section for tours. The park is popular with fisherman and dog lovers, and is near the Ship Yard. The western entrance of the Richmond portion of the Canal lies near the village of Sabot in Goochland County while the eastern lies in the city near the Richmond Deepwater Terminal. Sufficient waterflow appears to be provided by Bosher Dam, an 1835 structure located on the western side of the city.

Lock-Keeper's House

The Lock-Keeper's House is a historic home located near Cedar Point, Goochland County, Virginia. It was built about 1836 to serve Lock Number 7 and is the last remaining lock-keeper's house of the James River and Kanawha Canal system.

Varney's Falls Dam

Varney's Falls Dam is a historic lock and dam structure on south side of the James River near Gilmore Mills, Botetourt County, Virginia.

Restored lock

There is a restored lock in the village of Big Island off the James River where it is crossed by the Blue Ridge Parkway. A visitor center is located in Amherst County just north of the bridge crossing the river. The canal lock is in Big Island on the Bedford County side of the James and is accessed by a path and a walkway underneath the bridge.

Midland Trail

Much of the former James River and Kanawha Turnpike portage route through West Virginia is today the Midland Trail, a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

Washington and Lee University

Stock from the canal worth $20,000 was given to Liberty Hall Academy in Virginia's

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

by George Washington as an endowment. That gift prompted the renaming of the Academy to Washington College, which became today's

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

References

External links

Online exhibition on the James River & Kanawha Canal

Richmond Riverfront webpageScottsville's Canal Basin Square web site
*

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). It administers three programs established to document historic places in the United States: Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American E ...

(HAER) documentation: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:James River And Kanawha Canal Canals on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Canals in Virginia James River (Virginia) History of Richmond, Virginia Predecessors of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Non-railway predecessors of railway companies Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Henrico County, Virginia Historic American Engineering Record in Virginia Canals opened in 1851 1851 establishments in Virginia