Frank Padget Water Tragedy
Heavy rains in late Jan. 1854 left the James
River and the treacherous Balcony Falls in
full flood. On 21 Jan., the canal boat Clinton
and its passengers became stranded in the
raging waters. Frank Padget, a skilled
boatman and slave, led four other men to rescue
them. In a heroic attempt to save the last
passenger, Padget drowned, unable to fight the
rushing current. Capt. Edward Echols, who
witnessed Padget’s act, was so moved he
commissioned the construction of a granite
obelisk monument that was erected beside
Lock 16 of the Blue Ridge Canal. It now
stands here in Glasgow’s Centennial Park.
Marker is at the intersection of Blue Ridge Road (County Route 684) and McCulloch Street, on the right on Blue Ridge Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
