Dismal Swamp Canal
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Dismal Swamp Canal
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A sailboat on the Dismal Swamp Canal
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| Location | Runs between Chesapeake, Virginia, and South Mills, North Carolina |
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| Coordinates | 36°33′24″N 76°22′50″W / 36.55667°N 76.38056°WCoordinates: 36°33′24″N 76°22′50″W / 36.55667°N 76.38056°W |
| Area | 1,203 acres (487 ha) |
| Built | 1793 |
| Architect | Dismal Swamp Canal Co.; US Army Corps of Engineers |
| MPS | Dismal Swamp Canal and Associated Development, Southeast Virginia and Northeast North Carolina MPS |
| NRHP Reference # | 88000528 |
| VLR # | 131-0035 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 06, 1988 |
| Designated VLR | August 16, 1994 |
The Dismal Swamp Canal is located along the eastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina in the United States. It is the oldest continually operating man-made canal in the United States, opened in 1805. It is part of the Intracoastal Waterway, an inland route, which parallels the east coast and offers boaters shelter from the Atlantic Ocean from Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey, to Brownsville, Texas. The route runs through bays, lakes, rivers, streams, and canals, and includes the Intracoastal Waterway running from Norfolk, Virginia, to the Florida Keys.
In the Colonial period, water transportation was the lifeblood of the North Carolina sounds region and the Tidewater areas of Virginia. The landlocked sounds were entirely dependent upon poor overland tracks or shipment along the treacherous Carolina coast to reach further markets through Norfolk, Virginia. In May 1763, George Washington made his first visit to the Great Dismal Swamp and suggested draining it and digging a north-south canal through it to connect the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. As the first president, Washington agreed with Virginia Governor Patrick Henry that canals were the easiest answer for an efficient means of internal transportation and urged their creation and improvement.
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