William Byrd II visited the swamp, just to the south, in 1728 while he was surveying the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina. Byrd, and later George Washington, advocated construction of a canal through the swamp. Washington and his . . . — — Map (db m114522) HM
Herring Ditch was one of many ditches that connected with the Dismal Swamp Canal. Ditches were used to transport goods to the canal, allow access to swamp timber, and provide drainage. Walter Herron, a Dismal Swamp Canal Company stockholder, began . . . — — Map (db m114521) HM
Approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 1818, the North West Canal was constructed by the Dismal Swamp Canal Company between 1828 and 1830. The canal was intended for carrying timber and farm products between the Dismal Swamp Canal and the . . . — — Map (db m114524) HM
Before you is the Dismal Swamp Canal, a much sought after prize of war during the Civil War. The Confederates made good use of the canal facilities during the initial stages of the conflict. A large volume of supplies passed through in both . . . — — Map (db m211247) HM
(main legend, lower right corner) The Dismal Swamp Canal Trail, a former section of Virginia State Route 17, is now a multi-purpose, linear, nature trail and park traversing some of the most uniquely historic and ecologically significant . . . — — Map (db m114520) HM
The walking path you are standing on right now has quite a history.
In 1804, it was a tow road on the eastern bank of the canal, where laborers, using long wooden poles, ropes or mules, pushed loaded barges full of shingles, lumber, corn . . . — — Map (db m114518) HM
Across the canal lies the US Fish & Wildlife Service's Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
The Great Dismal Swamp was once a vast ecosystem that covered as much as one million acres of southeastern Virginia and northeastern . . . — — Map (db m114525) HM
