The James River & Kanawha Canal Historic Site in Buchanan, Virginia
In the first half of the 19th century, while roads were poor and railroads in their infancy, moving goods and people by water was the most practical solution. Improvements to the James River, to facilitate navigation by bateaux boats, were made as early as 1771. Bateaux were simple, long boats made of rough wood, propelled by poles that could carry several tons of cargo.
Painting of Buchanan by Edward Beyer, 1851. Note the canal boats and the stone structure at the edge of the water, the gauge dock
To expand the use of the James River for larger boats, planning began in 1785 for building a canal. A canal is a body of water beside a river. Its width, depth and water flow are controlled. A pathway parallel to the canal allows for mules or horses to pull the boats with a tow line. Boats go through “locks” to safely go up or down areas where elevation changes.
​
The James River & Kanawha Canal was built in stages with the goal of providing a route from the mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. In 1851 the canal arrived at Buchanan. For the next 5 years construction continued west from Buchanan but that section never was completed.
​
Buchanan was the western terminus of the canal and as such the town developed into a busy port and gateway to the west.
​
While there are remains of canal structures along the James, a significant canal structure is located at the Town of Buchanan. The structure is a dock where canal freight boats were weighed to ascertain the amount of tolls to charge. Just four of these “Gauge Docks” were constructed along the 196 mile length of the canal: Richmond, Scottsville, Lynchburg and Buchanan. (A branch of the canal from the James up the Maury River to Lexington was constructed with a gauge dock in Lexington.) Other than Buchanan, little remains of the other gauge docks.
A few buildings remain in Buchanan from its days as a canal port. Most prominent is the Wilson Warehouse (Buchanan’s Community House), located on Lowe Street just west of the gauge dock site. The warehouse was one of several where goods were warehoused for canal shipping and receiving. A store operated on the first floor. The Wilson family lived in the building. To this day, on the third floor of the building remains the wooden hoist system that was employed to bring goods up from outside to the upper floors.
The Wilson Warehouse, which served the canal, still stands on Lowe Street in Buchanan
The gauge dock itself had been unearthed in 2016 after having been filled in during the 1940s. The town’s hope was to find the dock fully intact. Much of the foundational structure was discovered. The “dressed” stone that lined the dock had been taken away prior to the fill-in nearly 75 years ago. After the extensive 2016 archaeological excavation, the gauge dock was partially filled in.
Overall excavation site of the gauge dock during 2016 study
The goal at present is to preserve the gauge dock in some manner, either to leave the site exposed as is, excavate it further or fill it in to protect its remains until a future date when perhaps it can be restored.