Welcome to the Hopewell Riverwalk

Welcome to the Hopewell Riverwalk. . , A Scenic River Rich in History, Appomattox County to Hopewell , The Hopewell Riverwalk is located on the Appomattox River, just west of its confluence with the James River at City Point. The Appomattox River originates in Appomattox County and meanders east for more than 150 miles before connecting with the James River in Hopewell. The river has served as a vital natural resource from the earliest indigenous peoples to modern civilization., Early Inhabitants , The river is named after the Appomattocs tribe - sometimes written as Appomattuk, Apamatic, or multiple other variations - who inhabited the land around the mouth of the Appomattox River. The Appomattocs were part of the Powhatan Confederacy and are believed to have been led by a weroansqua (female chieftan) named Opossunoquonuske. The first recorded interaction between colonists and the Appomattocs tribe was led by Christopher Newport on May 8, 1607, when a small party of men visited the village then known as Mattica. Colonists eventually forced the Appomattocs out of the area, leading to the settlement of Bermuda City, the area now known as City Point., Wartime on the River , The rivers in Hopewell became vital shipping corridors during the American Civil War from 1862-1865, supporting more than 100,000 Union troops during the fighting in and around Petersburg. It is said that hundreds of ships could pass through the City Point Wharf on any given day at the peak of the war. Union Army Commander, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, headquartered at City Point for nearly ten months during the war because of its defensibility and transportation benefits provided by the rivers., Modern Day on the Appomattox , The Appomattox is now known for its beauty and recreational opportunities such as fishing, kayaking, boating, and birding. The lower portion of the river from Lake Chesdin to Hopewell has been designated a State Scenic River. The river is one of Hopewell's most valuable natural resources and is being celebrated through a variety of coordinated revitalization and development efforts. One such effort was the creation of the Hopewell Riverwalk, which allows visitors to explore and appreciate Hopewell's beautiful natural environment. The Riverwalk represents one section of the proposed Appomattox River Trail (ART), spearheaded by the local conservation and advocacy group Friends of the Lower Appomattox River (FOLAR). The ART is proposed to eventually connect City Point in Hopewell with Ferndale Park in Dinwiddie County via a network of several trail systems., Environmental Tragedy in the Wonder City, Hopewell: Chemical Capital of the South , For more than 100 years, Hopewell has existed as a city built by industry. After the DuPont De Nemours Company began producing guncotton in 1912, the city has maintained a strong industrial base that exists to this day. In the 1970's, Hopewell was proudly recognized as the "Chemical Capitol of the South" for its large-scale chemical output by industrial giants like Allied Chemical Corporation, Hercules, Continental Can, and Firestone. That moniker would be abandoned after the city experienced one of the worst environmental disasters the country had ever seen., Kepone In 1973, two Allied Chemical Corporation employees left the company and founded the Life Science Products Company. The company was created solely to produce an insecticide, known as Kepone, which would be exported for use outside of the United States. The company had only been producing the chemical for 16 months when workers at the facility began showing signs of unusual illness. One of the company's founders acknowledged that many of the plant's employees were experiencing tremors, vision problems, joint pain, and other health issues. After blood samples of plant employees showed alarmingly high levels of Kepone, health and environmental authorities swarmed the city to investigate the incident. Employees and their families underwent intensive examination to determine how much Kepone was in their blood and in their homes. Measurable levels of the toxic chemical were detected in the blood of Hopewell residents up to a half mile away from the facility. Of the roughly 140 employees that worked at the facility, more than 70 showed symptoms of Kepone poisoning and 29 required hospitalization for treatment. Many of the employees would continue to experience health issues decades after the closure of the Life Science Products facility., Environmental Impact , Shortly after the discovery of the effects of Kepone on employees and residents, the investigation revealed that the chemical had been dumped into drains that flowed directly into a tributary of the James River. Fish and shellfish in the James River, Appomattox River, and other tributaries showed significant levels of Kepone up to 40 miles away from the Hopewell facility. Governor Mills E. Godwin declared the James River closed to commercial fishing from the falls in Richmond to the mouth of the James at the Chesapeake Bay. Restrictions on fishing would remain in place through 1988 and a cautionary fish consumption warning is still in place along the James River to this day. A recent study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science found that more than 60% of river fish still contain trace amounts of Kepone. Environmental scientists estimate that more than 200,000 pounds of Kepone could have been deposited in the rivers, although the actual amount could be much higher. It is likely that the total impact of this environmental disaster will never be fully understood., A River Revival, Virginia Environmental Endowment , The Virginia Environmental Endowment (VEE), a nonprofit, independent grant-making foundation, came about in a unique way: by court order. In February of 1977, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia fined Allied Chemical Corporation $13.2 million for polluting the James River with the insecticide Kepone. With the approval of Judge Robert R. Merhige Jr., a portion of this fine - $8 million - was paid by Allied to fund the creation of the Virginia Environmental Endowment for the purpose of improving the quality of Virginia's environment. Funding from the VEE was provided to create this educational signage for the Hopewell Riverwalk and has assisted with various other projects across the state over the last four decades., River Health , The efforts of organizations like the Virginia Environmental Endowment, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, local cities and counties, and various others have had a significant positive impact on the river's health. The American bald eagle, once a threatened species, has flourished as a result of improved environmental policies and the establishment of key habitat areas like the James River Wildlife Refuge. The endangered Atlantic Sturgeon has re-established its presence in Hopewell's rivers with evidence of spawning populations. The prehistoric fish, one of the river's largest, was almost driven to extinction as a result of over-fishing and pollution. The City of Hopewell has also contributed to the renewed health of the river, most notably with recent projects including a $70 million nitrogen reduction project at the Hopewell Water Renewal facility and a $3 million stream restoration project at Riverside Park. Although significant improvements have been achieved, there is still much to be done to repair the environment from events like Kepone pollution. A continued collaborative approach, strong conservation policies, and individual responsibility are necessary to keep our rivers healthy for decades to come., Public Access and Education , A key component to protecting the region's rivers is educating the public on the importance of environmental conservation and stewardship. Organizations like Hopewell Recreation and Parks and Friends of the Lower Appomattox River regularly host environmental education programs and school field trips that are focused on the river. The Riverwalk serves one of the region's most impressive outdoor classrooms, offering hands-on lessons in nature and ecology. Students are introduced to a variety of activities like kayaking, canoeing, water sampling, species identification, river cleanups, and invasive species removal projects. In 2020, the Hopewell Riverwalk was recognized as a gold medal recipient at the Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards and was named Best New Facility at the Annual Conference of the Virginia Recreation and Park Society.