Stone Mileposts along the Dismal Swamp Canal

Stone Mileposts along the Dismal Swamp Canal. . , Haphazardly scattered on the ground and under the water along the east bank of the canal, huge monoliths of chiseled stone may be waiting to be discovered. , Each one found so far weighs more than 1,000 lbs. and averages 4-6 feet long. Made of granite not found in Virginia, each has a unique hand-chiseled numeral into one side. The marker in front of you had been mostly hidden from view for more than 100 years, strangled in the grip of the roots of a wild cherry tree and sunk in the peaty ground below. Members of the Virginia Canals and Navigations Society rescued and restored it in 1994, when they went in search of it, and others like it, in the quest to solve this mystery. , How long have the granite markers been here? , By 1816, the United States Government recognized the strategic and financial importance of the Dismal Swamp Canal and the need to change it from a muddy, hand-dug ditch into a "liquid road" between North Carolina and Virginia. This included replacing the original squared timber locks , which had always been difficult to maintain and prone to floating away or washing out during floods , with new stone lift locks. Granite was brought here from Newark, New Jersey, and cut on the spot. VCNS scholars believe this occurred between 1819-1820, as the granite, equipment and men were available. This makes each marker almost 200 years old. , Why? , Like today's turnpikes, tolls for use of the canal and adjacent towpath/road were calculated by the mile, based on the distance from where they got on to where they got off. Timber, shingle flats and other vessels "tracked through" by manpower and by horse (mule) were charged, as well as travelers walking/riding on the towpath. The stones were most likely intended to be mile markers, as each discovered so far has been found near where mile marks would fall along the canal's 23-mile length if measured south from the Deep Creek Lock. They may also have served as beacons to describe where trouble spots, timber fall and other problems may be, just as mileposts along many waterways and highways do today. , "Tossed aside, as if by a giant hand" , By 1896, the Dismal Swamp Canal had fallen into general decay, due to travel diverted to the bigger and deeper Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal and the subsequent drop in tolls. The canal was sold to a private company; in 1896, giant steam shovels systematically widened it to twice its width, destroying the toll road/tow path in the process. All vessels had to be under their own power or under tow by a towing vessel and payment for use of the canal changed from paying by the mile to paying by the load. The helter-skelter positions in which the mileposts are being found today, lead to the assumption that the granite mileposts were simply tossed aside, not important enough to be reset and maintained. , Some mileposts may still be waiting to be found..., [other photo captions] , . Virginia Canals and Navigation Society retrieving/repairing marker