The Hyco River () is a tributary of the Dan River, which is a tributary of the
Roanoke River
The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...
. All three rivers flow through the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
s of
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
and
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 ...
. In
Person County, North Carolina
Person County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 39,097 as of the 2020 census. The county seat is Roxboro.
Person County is included in the Durham- Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...
the Hyco River is impounded by a dam, forming Hyco Lake. The main part of the river flows through Allensville, North Carolina (a township of Roxboro), on Gentry's Ridge and Mill Creek roads as it flows into Virginia townships such as Alton, Virginia, and Cluster Springs, Virginia, then combining with the Dan River.
According to the
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
the Hyco River has been known by the variant names Hicootomony Creek, Hy Coyee River, Hyco Creek, and Hyco-o-tee River.
Etymology
In 1728,
William Byrd II
William Byrd II (March 28, 1674August 26, 1744) was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor and writer. Born in the English colony of Virginia, Byrd was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, Byrd returned to Virginia ...
was the chief commissioner for Virginia when the boundary line between North Carolina and Virginia was run by surveyors and commissioners from each state. Byrd hired two
Saponi
The Saponi are a Native American tribe historically based in the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia.Raymond D. DeMaillie, "Tutelo and Neighboring Groups," pages 286–87. They spoke a Siouan language, related to the languages of the Tutel ...
natives from
Fort Christanna
Fort Christanna was one of the projects of Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood, who was governor of the Virginia Colony 1710–1722. When Fort Christanna opened in 1714, Capt. Robert Hicks was named captain of the fort and relocated his family to ...
for guides and hunters for the expedition. One of the Saponi became ill and returned, but the other, named Bearskin, provided "nearly all that we have of the language and folklore of the Saponi tribe." The language of the Saponi was likely identical to or a
dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
of the
Tutelo language
Tutelo, also known as Tutelo– Saponi (), is a member of the Virginian branch of Siouan languages that were originally spoken in what is now Virginia and West Virginia in the United States.
Most Tutelo speakers migrated north to escape warfare ...
. Bearskin gave the local name for what is now known as Hyco River as ''Hyco-oto-moni'', meaning Turkey buzzard river.
See also
*
List of rivers of Virginia
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Virginia.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries, arranged in the order of their confluence from mouth to source, indented under each larger stream's nam ...