BGuthrie Photos: NC -- Roanoke -- Roanoke Canal Park -- Power Station (Museum)

NC -- Roanoke -- Roanoke Canal Park -- Power Station (Museum):

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. RCANAP_150601_07.JPG: The Power Plant: Transition to Hydro-Electricity: The power plant directly ahead was one of two completed on the Roanoke Navigation Canal in 1900. This site was chosen because the old locks made a perfect reservoir once a dam was installed in place of the middle gates. The reservoir, combined with the channel, allowed enough water to flow into the power plant and turn the turbines before being released into the tailrace at the back of the building. The turbines, in turn, spun a generator that produced electricity. The Roanoke Canal power plant operated until 1912 when a court case over water rights with an adjacent power canal forced the removal of diversion dams upstream and left this canal without a reliable flow. Afterward, the building was renovated and used for many different purposes, such as a machine shop in the 1920s and a general rental space between 1950 and 1975, before becoming the current museum.
2. RCANAP_150601_11.JPG: Roanoke Canal "Duly Appreciated" -- Confederate Lifeline -- The Roanoke Navigation Company -- a collaboration among North Carolina, Virginia, and private shareholders -- began building the Roanoke Canal in 1819. The company created an inland navigation system from the upper Staunton and Dan Rivers in Virginia, down the Roanoke River through North Carolina, and then via the Dismal Swamp Canal to Norfolk. Construction of the 8.5-mile-long canal around the Great Falls of the Roanoke to the terminus of the project in present-day Weldon, using mostly slave labor, took several years to complete. Locks were built in three locations and an aqueduct was constructed over Chokoyotte Creek in Weldon. The canal boats, or batteaux, were about 60 feet long with an 8-foot-beam. Often, free blacks and slaves were engaged to pole them; each vessel transported 10-12 hogsheads (5-8 tons) of cargo. The canal operated until the railroads, providing more efficient transportation, forced its closure in 1859. Four major railroads served Weldon, making the town a major transportation center by 1861. Because of the movement of troops and supplies was such a critical component of the Southern war effort, the Roanoke Navigation Company experienced a resurgence. The canal was once again used to carry regional farm products to the rail junctions at Weldon for Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Although Union forces destroyed ports, railroads, and bridge throughout the South, the Roanoke Canal remained in service until the end of the war. The navigation company function through Reconstruction era until it ceased operations in 1875. "The importance of the Roanoke River is apparent. [It is] navigable ... to Weldon, the importance of which place, both on account of its railway connections and communications with the rebel army in Virginia and its water connection with the North Carolina sounds, is evident. ... The fertility of the Roanoke Valley is well known and duly appreciated by rebel authorities, who depend on it for large supplies for their armies, and who are now making strenuous efforts to provide against its being taken, by fortifications and concentration of troops." -- Col. Jones Frankle, 2nd Mass. Artillery, Nov. 24, 1864
3. RCANAP_150601_27.JPG: Piloting the Batteaux: A Job for Big Strong Men: Batteauxmen were rugged, strong, and individualistic men who risked their lives daily transporting goods up and down the river. Their origins dated back to the first European settlers whose only means of transportation in the New World wilderness was by boat. As the decades progressed, the boatmen developed specialized craft such as the batteau to increase their load capacity and improve their chances of surviving the river's shallow waters and swift-flowing rapids. The river, however, was not the only danger. Moored on the riverbanks at night, the batteauxmen had to protect their cargo from pirates and thieves. They also had to maintain the batteau and make emergency repairs when needed. With danger lurking around every bed, batteauxmen had interesting ways to occupy their time while floating through the occasional calm waters or after mooring for the night. Cards, dice, and other games of chance were common along with contests of strength and skill. Two of the more athletic tests were lifting large barrels to the shoulder or higher, and running sprints along the rails of the batteau. The Batteauxmen
4. RCANAP_150601_39.JPG: The Middle Locks Navigating Batteaux Vertically: When the Roanoke Navigation Canal was built between 1819 and 1823, plans included locks at both ends and four "middle locks" at the location directly ahead. Stonemasons and slaves cut the rock from local quarries and transported them to the building site for final footing and smoothing. Some of the larger stones are estimated to weigh over three tons and were moved using only physical labor. To save time and construction costs, on-sight engineers created two sets of "step-stair" locks instead of their plan's four individual locks. The second set is located twenty-five yards east and partially buried under Roanoke Avenue and the railroad tracks. Each lock's gates and wickets could be opened and closed by one person once the water pressure equalized. From the top of the first lock to the bottom of the last, the canal made a change of 38 feet in elevation. It took less than five minutes to flood or empty each lock.
5. RCANAP_150601_53.JPG: The Batteaux Running the River: Batteaux were operated using a combination of sweeps and poles. The sweeps were used at the bow and stern to maneuver the boats quickly in all directions. For propulsion, batteauxmen used long poles to push the boats. A fully laden batteau had an average crew of five men.
6. RCANAP_150601_59.JPG: Welcome to The Roanoke Canal Museum and Trail: The Roanoke Canal Museum and Trail is a 7-1/2 mile long indoor and outdoor museum celebrating early American ingenuity and canal history. The Roanoke Canal Trail and its contributing resources tell the history of transportation on the Roanoke River from the early 1800s to today. Still remaining hare portions of the 39 foot wide channel, its 10 foot wide tow path, the original aqueduct and one of the stone culverts. In 1976, the canal, the tow path, and canal structures were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The towpath and bottom of the canal provide pedestrian access between the communities of Roanoke Rapids and Weldon, North Carolina. Visitors using the Canal Trail can experience engineering feats and explore life along the Roanoke Valley as it was in the early 1800s. The canal and the supporting structures are a living legacy to the early years of transportation, the engineering profession, and a developing way of life along the Roanoke River. (5) Roanoke Canal Museum: Nearby Points of Interest: (5) The Roanoke Canal Museum (at 1.5 mile). Explore the rich history of the Canal and the Roanoke Valley. The Canal had one upper lock, four middle locks and, for a short time, six wooden locks at Weldon. Portions of the middle locks used to lower loaded batteaux can be seen at the museum site. A four-acre tract below the museum site was used as a holding basin for the batteaux. (6) Kraft Paper Mill (at 1.6 mile). Just after the trail crosses Highway 48, there is another set of locks. A concrete flume ran from these locks likely in the early 1900s to operate a water-powered sawmill. International Paper operates a Kraft paper mill just to the north. The mill, which was the first Kraft pulp mill in the country, operated as the Roanoke Rapids Paper Manufacturing Company, started in 1909. The Roanoke Canal Commission, Inc., was chartered in 1984 to "promote, develop and maintain the natural beauty and historic area that is part of the old Roanoke Navigation Canal in Halifax County, North Carolina." The Commission oversees the management of the Canal Trail and development of the Roanoke Canal Museum/
7. RCANAP_150601_65.JPG: Batteaux and Batteauxmen Navigating a Perilous River: Batteaux, originating from the French word for "boat", averaged sixty feet long, eight feet wide, and two feet deep. They could carry cargo weighing up to six tons but only drafted eighteen inches. This allowed them to navigate the shallow waters of the upper Roanoke River and the canal. Sweeps at both the bow and stern could be used to maneuver the boat quickly and in all directions as the current propelled it. Batteauxmen also used poles to push the boats back upstream. A batteau had an average crew of five men. Simply referred to as batteauxmen, the crews were rugged, strong, and individualistic. During the day they had to navigate swift-flowing currents and rapids and at night had to protect their cargo from thieves and maintain the boats. The batteauxmen were also renowned for their love of games of chance and contests of strength and maritime skills.
Wikipedia Description: Roanoke Canal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
2015 photos: I retired from the US Census Bureau in god-forsaken Suitland, Maryland on my 58th birthday in May. Yee ha! Trips this year: a quick trip to Florida. two Civil War Trust conferences (Raleigh, NC and Richmond, VA), and my 10th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including Los Angeles). Ego Strokes: Carolyn Cerbin used a Kevin Costner photo in her USA Today article. Miss DC pictures were used a few times in the Washington Post. Equipment this year: I mostly used my Fuji XS-1 camera but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. Number of photos taken this year: just over 550,000.
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Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].