The North Carolina Legislature passed a bill in 1812 entitled: "An Act for improving the navigation of Roanoke River from the Town of Halifax to the place where the Virginia line intersects same." The capital stock was fixed at $100,000 divided into 1,000 shares of $100 denomination each. The next year a meeting of stockholders held at Halifax, N.C., on October 25, 1813, the company was declared organized. It was styled the Roanoke Navigation Company.
The North Carolina Legislature in 1815 opened new subscription books for $300,000, or 3,000 shares of $100 each, with the State of North Carolina subscribing 250 shares.
On November 11, 1816, Roanoke Navigation Company was chartered by Virginia's Legislature and a further addition of $200,000 was made to the capital stock.
Another act of the North Carolina Legislature assented to the Virginia Act and enacted: "That the exclusive right to improve the navigation of said River (Roanoke) and its branches within the state of Virginia shall be, and the same hereby is vested in the Company incorporated by the several acts of the Legislature of North Carolina, passed in 1812, 1815, and 1816."
Construction of the canals and locks was to be completed by January 1, 1843, and the property was to be exempt from taxation forever.
Virginia and North Carolina legislatures both concurred in the provisions of the 1817 ACT and each state reserved to itself the right to subscribe $800,000 to the stock.
The Roanoke Navigation Company accepted all the legislative conditions at a meeting of directors on May 6, 1817. Construction began, with work on the canal around the falls and rocks in the Dan River at Danville and the much larger construction of the canal and locks to get around Great Falls and the rapids in the Roanoke River from Rock Landing 13 1/2 miles downstream to Weldon's Landing proceeded at a better-than-scheduled pace.
The first canal, in Danville, began at what is now known as the White Mill of Dan River Incorporated. There, boats which had come down the Smith and Dan to Danville easily moved in the quiet water that afforded a course around the dangerous falls and rocks. It may be seen today from Memorial Drive, which uses a part of the canal site as it approaches its intersection with Danville's Main Street at Craghead.
As construction proceeded, use of the canals and locks began in 1824 in Virginia and in North Carolina -- 19 years ahead of schedule. Bateaux, up to 65 ft. in length and with an 8-ft. beam, began to ply the river and canals system from the upper reaches of the Dan and Staunton all the way to Albemarle Sound, thence up the Pasquotank River at Elizabeth City and through the new Dismal Swamp Canal to the Elizabeth River that separates Portsmouth and Norfolk.
Source: The Danville Register (Danville, VA), 4 July 1976, Sun, Page 27.
_______________
Among those from Caswell County who owned shares in the Roanoke Navigation Co.: Thomas Boulden; Bartlett Yancey, Jr.; Romulus Mitchell Saunders; Henry M. Clay, Warner Williams, William Irvine, Archibald D. Murphey, Thomas McGehee, Joseph McGehee, and Azariah Graves.
_______________
In 1826 the Commonwealth of Virginia purchased 800 shares of the Roanoke Navigation Company at a price of $73,600.
Source: Phenix Gazette (Alexandria, Virginia), 25 January 1826, Wed, Page 2.
_______________
Caswell County, North Carolina
Deed Book X
Page 152
Thomas Boulden of Caswell County [Milton] to Henry M. Clay, R. M. Sanders [Romulus Mitchell Saunders], Warner Williams, B. Yancey [Bartlett Yancey, Jr.], William Irvine, A. D. Murphey [Archibald Debow Murphey], Thomas McGehee, Joseph McGehee, and Azariah Graves, all of Caswell County, for $250, 10 shares of stock in Roanoke Navigation Co. 16 June 1819. Proved July 1827. It appears that Thomas Boulden was dead and his handwriting proved by James Rainey and Charles Wilson.
_______________
Letter from Romulus Mitchell Saunders (Washington, DC) to Bartlett Yancey, Jr. (Caswell Court House, NC), 3 April 1822
"As regards the settlement with Bouldin I shall do whatever is thought best by you & the rest of the company."
_______________
Letter from Romulus Mitchell Saunders (Washington, DC) to Bartlett Yancey, Jr. (Raleigh, NC), 10 December 1824
"I omitted to say anything in my last [letter] about your Roanoke Stock [Roanoke Navigation Company] -- the instalment you paid me was not the last -- as I paid my last [letter] by a draft from this place last winter -- yours I paid just before coming here -- the last instalment fell due just after the payment of the one preceding."
_______________
The Roanoke and Pamptico Canal Company was organized in 1818 with a capital stock of $150,000. That Bedford Brown, Romulus Saunders, Bartlett Yancey, and others were appointed to receive subscriptions for shares in Caswell County is not surprising as they were prominent in the community. Note the men appointed for Orange County: Duncan Cameron, Archibald D. Murphey, and Thomas Ruffin, among others. Definitely blue bloods.
It appears this canal was not part of the project at Roanoke Rapids. The Pamptico River now is called the Tar River/Pamlico River.
_______________
Weldon is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,655 at the 2010 census.[5] It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In 1752, Daniel Weldon purchased 1,273 acres of land on the Roanoke River. His plantation became known as Weldon's Landing. As it was just below the fall line, Weldon's Landing was the westernmost point of navigation along the Roanoke.[6]
The Roanoke Canal was built in 1823 to bypass the rapids and open up trade to Virginia. The aqueduct across Chockoyotte creek was built near Weldon's Landing, bringing an economic boom to the area. The canal is now dry, and is a hiking trail open to the public.
Weldon was the first railroad hub in the American South. The Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad terminated in Weldon. In 1841, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was completed, also terminating in Weldon. At the time, it was the longest railroad in the world. This led to the incorporation of the town in 1843.
The Petersburg and Roanoke Railroad in 1848 and the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad in 1853 both extended to terminate in Weldon.[7]
During the Civil War, both railroad bridges over the Roanoke were burned. Only the Seaboard and Roanoke rebuilt their bridge.
Weldon is located in northern Halifax County at 36°25'36"N 77°36'6"W (36.426567, -77.601597).[9] It is bordered to the west by Roanoke Rapids, the county's largest community, and to the north by Northampton County, across the Roanoke River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.4 km2), all land.[5]
U.S. Route 301 passes through the town, leading south 38 miles (61 km) to Rocky Mount and north 19 miles (31 km) to Emporia, Virginia. U.S. Route 158 runs east-west through the town, connecting the downtown area with Interstate 95 at the town's western border. US 158 leads east 29 miles (47 km) to Murfreesboro and west 4 miles (6 km) into the southern part of Roanoke Rapids. Interstate 95 leads north to Emporia and south to Rocky Mount, providing a highway alternative to US 301.
Source: Wikipedia
_______________
Roanoke Canal is a historic canal located near Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County, North Carolina. It was built as part of the Roanoke Navigation System and extends from Roanoke Rapids Lake southeast seven miles to the canal's return into the Roanoke River at Weldon, North Carolina. The Roanoke Navigation System was planned to connect the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. The earliest sections were built under the direction of civil engineer Hamilton Fulton. Extant structures include the middle or lift locks, the aqueduct (1821-1823), and the three-story brick mill (1892) and powerhouse (c. 1904).
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Source: Wikipedia
_______________
Bibliography
Roanoke Navigation Company
The Danville Register (Danville, VA), 4 July 1976, Sun, Page 27
No comments:
Post a Comment