Dismal Swamp Canal -- South Mills, NC
N 36° 30.415 W 076° 21.347
18S E 378589 N 4041030
Simple marker at the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center annotating the canals placement on the register as District 8800528.
Waymark Code: WM96DE
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 07/05/2010
Views: 10
In May 1763, George Washington made his first visit to the Great Dismal Swamp and suggested draining it and digging a north-south canal through it to connect the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. As the first president, Washington agreed with Virginia Governor Patrick Henry that canals were the easiest answer for an efficient means of internal transportation and urged their creation and improvement. In 1784, the Dismal Swamp Canal Company was created. Work was started in 1793. The canal was dug completely by hand; most of the labor was done by slaves hired from nearby landowners. It took approximately 12 years of back-breaking construction under highly unfavorable conditions to complete the 22-mile long waterway, which opened in 1805.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865) the canal was in an important strategic position for Union and Confederate forces. In April, 1862, upon learning of rumors that the canal would be used to help the Confederate ironclad escape from Hampton Roads to the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, Union General Ambrose E. Burnside sent General Jesse L. Reno from Roanoke Island to destroy the Culpepper Locks near South Mills on the Dismal Swamp Canal. The Battle of South Mills was the only battle action near the canal. However, wartime activity left the canal in a terrible state of repair. The repairs and maintenance needed by the canal made travel difficult.
In modern times, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains the canal. The Dismal Swamp Canal is one of two inland routes connecting the Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound. About 2,000 recreational boaters transit the canal each year as they pass through the Intracoastal Waterway. The Virginia portion of the canal was located in Norfolk County, which today is the City of Chesapeake, where the northern portion of the canal at Deep Creek connects with the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River. The southern end of the canal leads to Albemarle Sound. The Dismal Swamp Canal Visitor Center is the only Visitor Center in the continental U. S. greeting visitors by both a major highway and an historic waterway. It is located in Camden County, North Carolina on scenic U.S. Highway 17 three miles south of the Virginia/North Carolina border.
The Canal is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark. The historic canal is now recognized as part of the National Underground Railroad and along with the Great Dismal Swamp, is noted as a former sanctuary for runaway slaves seeking freedom.
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