Virginia Canals & Navigations Society

Helping to preserve Virginia's historic waterways
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Working together with:
The James River Batteau Festival, a program of the VC&NS.
Click here to go to The James River Batteau Festival Site:
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A load of tires taken out of the river and put on board a batteau at Wingina, Sept. 2007.
Click here to see other photos of past clean up events.

Annual James River Cleanup Day at Wingina.
Saturday Sept. 6th at 8:30 am.
Lunch served by The Sierra Club.

Please help us keep the James Clean and Green.
Bring your canoe, trash bags and lots of people to help!

Sponsored by Keep Nelson Beautiful & The Sierra Club
Contact: Roger Nelson - 434-221-9000
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VC&NS life member Philip deVos by his photo of the Batteau "Columbia".
Photo by Bill Trout

Exhibition of canal and batteau photographs by Philip deVos,
to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Great Basin Dig,
August 1983-August 2008

This photo of VC&NS life member Philip deVos was taken at the opening reception of his exhibition in Dooley Hall in the Richmond Public Library on Friday August 1st. He's standing beside the same photo which appeared on page 13 of the Summer 2008 TILLER, taken on May 31, 1984. It shows the batteau COLUMBIA, the first modern batteau, built in Columbia, Virginia, entering the Kanawha Canal at George Washington's Arch in Richmond's Pump House Park.

The library is at 101 E. Franklin Street in downtown Richmond, 804-646-7223, open M-W 9-9, Th-F 9-6 and Sat. 10-5. Dooley Hall is inside the library entrance, on the right. The exhibit will be there for the month of August, through September 2nd.

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Kittiewan – Canal Days
August 9th and 23rd!

This August, 2008, marks the 25th anniversary of the beginning of
Richmond's Great Basin Dig which led to the James River Batteau Festival
and the American Batteau Revival.

On Saturday August 9th and Saturday August 23rd from 10 to 4, Canal Days at Kittiewan Plantation will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the discovery of batteaux in the Great Basin in August 1983. Come visit us at the Canal Barn which now houses canal exhibits and the artifacts recovered from Richmond's Great Basin in 1983-1985. We'll start opening up boxes of artifacts to begin touching history and inventorying them. We would appreciate as much help as possible. If you can't come then but would be interested in helping in the future, let us know at Bill@vacanals.org.

Thousands of artifacts recovered from the Great Basin are now in the "Canal Boat Barn" on the Archeological Society of Virginia's new headquarters, Kittiewan Plantation.

On display are canal and lock models in addition to the large iron articles found in the basin such as pigs from iron furnaces. Most of the small artifacts such as batteau pole tips, bones, ceramics and tinware are stored in boxes. We want to open as many boxes as possible, to see what's in there and touch history and make an inventory. We hope that all of you who are interested in batteaux, canals and archaeology will drop by to be shown around, and to help explore the boxes.

If you can't come on either of these dates, please let us know if you would be interested in working with the collection at other times. We can't do this alone, and we need your help working with and showing the collection. No expertise is necessary. The batteaux which were recovered are still stored elsewhere, underwater, waiting to be preserved for display. The Great Basin Collection is a long-term project which will provide years of fun and many interesting research projects. Please join us.

Kittiewan Plantation is about 25 miles east of Richmond on Rt.5, north of the James. From Charles City Courthouse, go east 1.3 miles on Rt.5 to the Kittiewan and Weyanoke plantation signs and turn right. The Canal Boat Barn is in front of you at the last right turn before the end of Kittiewan's dirt road. Of course the wonderful Colonial plantation house, and the ASV museum will also be open on Saturday. Take a look at the place on www.kittiewanplantation.org.

If you have any questions contact Nancy and Bill at bill@vacanals.org
or 804-288-1334; or ASV at 804-829-2272 or kittiewan@kittiewanplantation.org.

This photo shows several of the exhibits. Clockwise from top: A tobacco hogshead head found in the Appomattox river; Nancy Trout (holding the Batteau Flash Lock working model); bow of the Coal Boat (Great Basin Boat #2); article and ballad on the wall commemorating the Wreck of the Maiden's Adventure in 1987.

Kittiewan Plantation, the new headquarters of the Archeological Society of Virginia, is about 25 miles east of Richmond on Rt.5, north of the James. From Charles City Courthouse, go east 1.3 miles on Rt.5 to the Kittiewan and Weyanoke plantation signs and turn right. The Canal Boat Barn is in front of you at the last right turn before the end of Kittiewan's dirt road. Of course the wonderful Colonial plantation house, and the ASV museum will also be open on Saturday. Take a look at the place on www.kittiewanplantation.org.

Site Categories:

History

The Tiller
Several issues of The Tiller to choose from online.

The Sweep
April 2007 Sweep!

Calendar of Events
Coming Soon.
(Under Construction)

Canal Parks in Virginia

VC&NS Publications
List of Publications available to order.

VCNS officers, addresses and email
Want to find a member or become one yourself?

Inquiries about VC&NS

From Left to right: Buddy and Jean High, Glen and Brenda Shrewsbury enjoying the front porch at the conference center after dinner Friday night at the VC&NS Annual Meeting. © 2008 - Photo By: Holt Messerly

VC&NS Annual Meeting Photos
4-H Conference Center, Wakefield, VA.
Click here to see photos from Friday Night!

Click here to see from the VC&NS Banquet from Saturday Night

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Welcome to the VC&NS.

The Virginia Canals and Navigations Society's web pages offer general information of value to its members and interested "canal buffs" with access to the World Wide Web.

The organization itself was formed in 1977 to preserve and enhance Virginia's rich inland waterways heritage in all its fascinating aspects. History, exploration, archeology, modeling, local lore and legend, restoration, preservation, park and trail development - these are some of the many areas of interest our members pursue to their own great satisfaction and frequently to the lasting benefit of their communities and state.

This site features the following:

• Information and direct links for contacting members and other related sites.

• Access to publications on Virginia rivers and navigation's.

• Planned events, tours, conferences, and workshops.

• Highlights from The Tiller and The Sweep, two quarterly publications by the VC&NS.

• Planned events, tours, conferences, and workshops.