Why Build a Canal Here?
The Waterways
A Safer, Faster Route was Needed
Prior to the Revolutionary War, the most direct routes to transport goods to Norfolk and points north from North Carolina were, either the very slow overland route through the village of Great Bridge, or the very dangerous ocean route through “The Graveyard of the Atlantic” around Cape Hatteras.
Transporting goods was expensive; before the canal, a farmer could spend a third of the value of his crop getting it to market.
A Revolutionary Interruption
A canal for this area was proposed as early as 1728. By 1772, the canal survey was completed. The
revolutionary events of 1775—1776, which included the Battle of Great Bridge, interrupted further development. Eighty-three years would pass before the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal was realized.
Marker can be reached from Locks Road 0.6 miles from North Battlefield Boulevard (Virginia Route 168), on the left when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
