Upper Appomattox canal system
| Upper Appomattox Canal Navigation System | |
|---|---|
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.