The Chowan River (cho-WAHHN)
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. Retrieved 2013-02-08. is a

blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea ...

formed with the merging of Virginia's Blackwater and Nottoway rivers near the stateline between

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and North Carolina. According to the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

a variant name is Choan River. Flowing for approximately 50 miles (80 km) before ending in the

Albemarle Sound Albemarle Sound () is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Currituck Banks, a bar ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

's coast, the river drains about of land in North Carolina and Virginia. Flowing through mostly swamp land with occasional high ground, the Chowan River grows to nearly two miles wide (3 km) at its opening to the Albemarle Sound. The river offers excellent fishing for catfish and largemouth bass. While tidal, the variation in tide heights in the Chowan River are normally less than one foot (30 cm) between high and low tide. The average depth is 16 feet and the maximum depth is 40 feet around Holiday Island. The Eden House bridge on US Route 17 marks the border between the Chowan River and Albemarle Sound. Significant tributaries include Bonds Creek, the

Meherrin River The Meherrin River is a long 6th order tributary to the Chowan River that joins in Hertford County, North Carolina. A twenty-foot-high dam on the river creates a reservoir in Emporia. For most of its length, the Meherrin is not large enough f ...

, Bennett's Creek (which connects the Chowan River with Merchant's Millpond State Park), and the Wiccacon River. The river featured prominently in the Civil War in the region. As part of the Union plan to destroy the

Wilmington and Weldon Railroad The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. At the time of its completion in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with of track ...

, Union ships sailed up the Chowan river, bombarding small Confederate posts outside of Harrellsville, North Carolina (at Deep Creek, also known as Swain's Mill Creek) and outside of Cofield, North Carolina (at Petty's Shore, where an old bunker is still visible in the landscape). By the time the ships reached

Winton, North Carolina Winton is a town and the county seat of Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. It is governed by the Town Council which consists of a Mayor and five Council members. The population was 769 at the 2010 census. History On September 19, 1862 ...

, the local troops had been alerted to the oncoming ships. Hiding in the woods near the dock for an ambush, the Confederate battalion at Winton sent a slave girl down to the Union boats to tell them that the locals had fled in fear of a Union attack. The ambush was foiled, however, when a Union soldier saw the gleam of the sun on a musket barrel in the woods. The Union ships quickly pulled anchor, regrouped, and returned minutes later to burn Winton to the ground. That same Union fleet would go on to land at

Murfreesboro, North Carolina Murfreesboro is a town in Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,835 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Chowan University. Geography Murfreesboro is located in northwestern Hertford County at (36.440983, -77.0 ...

(via the Meherrin River) and march west to the railroad at Weldon. The Chowan River is one of the three oldest surviving English place-names in the U.S. Along with Roanoke Island and the

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in ...

, it was named in 1584 by Captains

Philip Amadas Philip Amadas (1550–1618) was a naval commander and explorer in Elizabethan England. Little is known from his early life, but he grew up within a wealthy merchant family in southwestern England. Amadas was instrumental in the early years of t ...

and

Arthur Barlowe Arthur Barlowe (1550 – 1620) was one of two British captains (the other was Philip Amadas) who, under the direction of Sir Walter Raleigh, left England in 1584 to find land in North America to claim for Queen Elizabeth I of England. Hiaccoun ...

, sent to explore the region by Sir Walter Raleigh. Their "Chowanook", or Chowanoke, name was shortened to Chowan.

References

External links

A story about the last family of Chowanoke Indians at Marvin T. Jones' local web journal roanoke-chowan.com
{{authority control Bodies of water of Chowan County, North Carolina Bodies of water of Gates County, North Carolina Bodies of water of Hertford County, North Carolina Rivers of North Carolina Tributaries of Albemarle Sound

See also

References

External links