The Abutment Dam, the Appomattox Canal Dam, brought water to the Upper Appomattox Canal.
Specifications
Maximum boat beam
5 ft 0 in (1.52 m)
Locks
17 Locks (Staircase fashion around the Fall Line and along the river)
Status
No longer in use since 1890
Navigation authority
Virginia General Assembly
History
Original owner
Upper Appomattox Canal company
Principal engineer
John Couty (1830)
Date of act
1796
Construction began
1809
Date completed
1816
Date closed
1890
Geography
Start point
Farmville, Virginia
End point
Petersburg, Virginia
Branch(es)
Appomattox River
Branch of
James River
The Upper Appomattox Canal Navigation system allowed farmers who took their wheat and corn to mills on the Appomattox River, as far way as Farmville, Virginia, to ship the flour all the way to Petersburg from 1745 to 1891. The system included a navigation, modifications on the Appomattox River, a Canal around the falls Petersburg, and a turning basin in Petersburg to turn their narrow long boats around, unload the farm products from upstream and load up with manufactured goods from Petersburg. In Petersburg, workers could put goods on ships bound for the Chesapeake Bay and load goods from far away for Farmville and plantations upstream. Canal boats would return up river with manufactured goods. People who could afford it, rode in boats on the canal as the fastest and most comfortable ride. The river was used for transportation and shipping goods for over 100 years.
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