Rapidan Dam Canal of the Rappahannock Navigation
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Rapidan Dam Canal of the Fredericksburg Navigation
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| Location | Spotsylvania County, Virginia |
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| Nearest city | Fredericksburg, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 38°21′28″N 77°36′40″W / 38.35778°N 77.61111°WCoordinates: 38°21′28″N 77°36′40″W / 38.35778°N 77.61111°W |
| Built | 1829, rebuilt 1845 |
| Architect | John Couty |
| NRHP Reference # | 73002063 |
| VLR # | 088-0137 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 26, 1973 |
| Designated VLR | June 19, 1973 |
The Rapidan Dam Canal of the Rappahannock Navigation is a canal intended to safely carry Batteaus, sturdy flat-bottomed boats used primarily for transporting cargo, around the rapids at the confluence of the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers. The Rapidan Canal, funded and constructed by The Rappahannock Company, consists of two different canals (the Old Rapidan Canal and the Rapidan Canal) built at different times. All of the Rappahannock Navigation, of which the Rapidan Canal is a part, is located in the Piedmont region of Virginia. The Confluence, the name used on maps of the day and sometimes maps of today to denote where the two rivers meet, is located where the borders of the Virginia Counties of Spotsylvania, Stafford and Culpeper meet but is owned by the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Rapidan Canal was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) on June 19, 1973, and on the National Register of Historic Places on July 26, 1973.
Construction of the original Rapidan Canal, sometimes referred to as the "Old Rapidan Canal," started on the north bank of the Rappahannock River in the 1830s, fell into disrepair during the mid- and late 1830s and was abandoned entirely in the 1840s when construction of the new canal on the south bank was complete and the new canal serviceable.
The history of the entire Rappahannock Navigation, of which the Rapidan Canal was a part, is really the story of the Rappahannock Company. Organized in 1816, The Rappahannock Company sought to build a navigable, 50-mile system of dams and locks on the Rappahannock River and the lower part of the Rapidan River to facilitate the movement of commercial goods between Fredericksburg and the furthest reaches of the navigation. Early investors were primarily Fredericksburg merchants and the Common Council of the Corporation of Fredericksburg (City of Fredericksburg) who wanted Fredericksburg's port to compete as a major shipping port. However, potential canal users on the upper reaches of the planned navigation were reluctant to invest or otherwise support the Company unless work had started on a stretch of canal that would serve their immediate interests.
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