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 f ...

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 are ...

intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a rail line following the same course. Encouraged by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, 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 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 are ...

through the Virginia Board of Public Works, it was only half completed by 1851, reaching

Buchanan Buchanan may refer to: People * Buchanan (surname) Places Africa * Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal town Antarctica * Buchanan Point, Laurie Island Australia * Buchanan, New South Wales * Buchanan, Northern Territory, a locality * Bucha ...

, in

Botetourt County Botetourt County ( ) is a US county that lies in the Roanoke Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the mountainous portion of the state, the county is bordered by two major ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mount ...

. When work to extend it further west stopped permanently,

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

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

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

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 The Richmond and Alleghany Railroad was built along the James River along the route of the James River and Kanawha Canal from Richmond on the Fall Line at the head of navigation to a point west of Lynchburg near Buchanan, Virginia, and combined w ...

, 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 P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

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 seams. It ...

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 an ...

to reach the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

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 Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

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 state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, 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. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...

(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 ...

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

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

and the

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

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

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

on the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

, 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 entir ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

and Lynchburg on the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesap ...

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 in the United S ...

. It was known by then that the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

flowed into the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

, which flowed into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. It was also known that the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

formed the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly spans ...

, 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 (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and would be equally helpful to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

. 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 valley has been a significant industrial region of the st ...

(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 7th Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to create ...

, and

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

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

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

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

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region, a transitional area between the sandy

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...

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 did most of the labor. 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 Virginia Board of Public Works resumed construction. Work stalled yet again, then resumed in 1835 under the new James River and Kanawha Company, with Judge

Benjamin Wright Benjamin Wright (October 10, 1770 – August 24, 1842) was an American civil engineer who was chief engineer of the Erie Canal and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. In 1969, the American Society of Civil Engineers declared him the "Father of America ...

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 an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

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

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 capital and most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 48,018 in 2021. The Charlesto ...

. 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

at Hampton Roads. The Buckingham Branch Railroad, a short-line railroad, 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 United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1971. The

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

included one

contributing building In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, nine

contributing sites In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, and 21

contributing structures In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

. 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 Three Mile Lock or Pumphouse Park located behind the

Carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoni ...

in William

Byrd Park Byrd Park, also known as William Byrd Park, is a public park located in Richmond, Virginia, United States, north of the James River and adjacent to Maymont. The park includes a mile-long trail with exercise stops, monuments, an amphitheatre, and ...

. This park was a mark at for the old canal system. It contains parts of the old 18th century locks, gatekeeper's house, and the City's 1901 historic water pumping station called the Byrd Park Pumphouse. The City is working on plans to return the pumphouse to some form of public use by restoring its old dance floor (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 A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

. The western entrance of the Richmond portion of the Canal lies near the village of Sabot in

Goochland County Goochland County is a county located in the Piedmont of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its southern border is formed by the James River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,727. Its county seat is Goochland. Goochland County is inc ...

while the eastern lies in the city near the

Richmond Deepwater Terminal The Port of Richmond, also known as the Richmond Deepwater Terminal, is located on the James River in Richmond, Virginia, United States, inland from Cape Henry and approximately northwest of Newport News, Virginia. It is located at 77° 25' ...

. Sufficient waterflow appears to be provided by

Bosher Dam Bosher's Dam is a historic low head dam (also called a weir) built upon the James River just west of Richmond, Virginia. It is a 12-foot-high stone structure which interrupts the natural flow of Virginia's largest self-contained river by spannin ...

, 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. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridg ...

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 , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...

References

External links

Online exhibition on the James River & Kanawha CanalRichmond 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) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(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