Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Dismal Swamp Canal Company records

Dublin Core

Title

Dismal Swamp Canal Company records

Date

1792-1834

Description

Virginia’s General Assembly authorized several joint-stock companies for projects to link separated
crop producing areas during the late eighteenth century. Among these was connection of the
Chesapeake Bay with North Carolina’s Currituck Sound by a waterway through the Great Dismal
Swamp. Efforts were disrupted by the Revolution and, eventually, canals were superceded by
railroads. This collection includes a map of the canal as well as indentures, warrants and inquisitions,
land valuations, and surveys. Most of the collection pertains to the acquisition of land by the Canal
Company or its subsequent leasing of the land to private individuals. Names mentioned in the collection
include: Robert Andrews, Daniel Berdinger, Donald Campbell, John Cowper, and Thomas Newton, Jr.

Identifier

MS1976.3