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The Aqueduct
Bridging Chockoyotte Creek
The aqueduct was completed around 1824 and was one of the first structures built before the Roanoke Canal opened. Originally designed to have two keystone arches by North Carolina's state engineer Hamilton Fulton, the final structure was changed on-site to have only one. The arch's foundation was cut directly into the hard granite bedrock. Precisely cut stone blocks were then placed without the use of mortar into an arch spanning Chockoyotte Creek; only gravity holds them in place. Once the arch was completed, additional stone blocks were added on top to create a three-foot deep channel from one embankment to the other. A mixture of wet clay and sand -- called puddle -- was then layered into the bottom of the canal passage to make the aqueduct waterproof.
In the 1890s, the Roanoke Canal was renovated for hydro-electric power, and that required a deeper channel. Since the aqueduct could not be dug out, the sides were built up four additional feet. Even with the increased weight and flow of water, the aqueduct remained firm until the canal was closed in the late 1910s. Since then, it has stood as a grand monument to the engineering ingenuity of the men who built the Roanoke Canal.
From the observation deck, several different types of stonework are visible that mark where improvements and repairs to the aqueduct have been made over the years.
(A) The original aqueduct only required a channel three feet deep, so it was several feet shorter from the top than it appears today.
(B) In the 1890s, the canal owners deepened the aqueduct by building up the channel walls. The top four feet of stone are recognized by their darker color and different tooling marks where they were cut.
(C) Several floods -- called freshets -- were responsible for causing extensive damage over the lifespan of the canal. Major floods in 1834 and 1850 threatened to close the canal. The repaired abutment (on the right side of the aqueduct seen from the overlook) was the result of "high waters" washing it out in 1910. In 1912, another flood occurred that washed out other portions of the canal, consequently closing it for good.
The aqueduct is only one of many man-made structures built on this part of Chockoyotte Creek. During the American Civil War, Confederate troops built breastworks with five cannon emplacements on the hill nearby to protect Weldon's railroads and the canal from Union raiders. At least one road had a bridge crossing the creek south and within site of the aqueduct. A wine bottling plant build by Paul Garrett was located nearby on the banks of Chockoyotte Creek along with his personal home. His company thrived until 1909 when the need for larger facilities, prohibition laws, and other factors caused it to close. Today, the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District operates their wastewater treatment plant within sight downstream. |