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Dutch Gap Canal

1610s in VirginiaGeography of VirginiaJames River (Virginia)Pages with login required references or sourcesPetersburg Campaign
Protected areas of Chesterfield County, Virginia
Feeder ship Reykafoss on the Dutch Gap Canal
Feeder ship Reykafoss on the Dutch Gap Canal

Dutch Gap Canal is located on the James River in Chesterfield County, Virginia just north of the lost 17th-century town of Henricus. The canal's construction was initiated by Union forces during the American Civil War to bypass a meander loop of the river around a peninsula known as Farrar's Island that was controlled by Confederate artillery. The canal was completed after the war and is now the main channel of the James River in this area. Today, the area south of the canal is the location of the Dutch Gap Conservation Area and Henricus Historical Park.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Dutch Gap Canal (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Dutch Gap Canal
Relic River Boardwalk,

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Wikipedia: Dutch Gap CanalContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 37.37723 ° E -77.358698 °
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Address

Henricus

Relic River Boardwalk
23836
Virginia, United States
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Feeder ship Reykafoss on the Dutch Gap Canal
Feeder ship Reykafoss on the Dutch Gap Canal
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Nearby Places

Farrar's Island
Farrar's Island

Farrar's Island is a peninsula on the west side of the James River in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It is the site of the Dutch Gap Conservation Area and Boat Landing and the Henricus Historical Park. Originally, Farrar's Island was formed by a meander loop in the James River and lay on the east side of the James River. At its smallest point, the neck of the peninsula was less than 400 feet (120 metres) wide. At that time, Farrar's Island was slightly less than 700 acres (280 hectares) and lay about 15 miles (24 km) south of the James River fall line at Richmond, Virginia. Due to its strategic location on the river, the neck of the peninsula became the site of the earliest English settlements in Virginia, Henricus, was founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611. Farrar's Island acquired its name after 1637 when the Farrar family obtained ownership as fulfillment the headright due to William Farrar, an early settler who was councillor and commissioner of the Crown Colony of Virginia. The Farrar family owned the peninsula until 1737 when it was sold to Thomas Randolph. During the last year of the American Civil War, Farrar's Island played a minor role in the Bermuda Hundred campaign. The James River along the peninsula anchored the left flank of Union General Benjamin Butler's defensive line. At this time, Farrar's Island was the site of river defenses by both Union and Confederate to deny the use of the James River to the enemy. The James River around Farrar's Island was also the site of one of the last major naval engagements of the war, the Battle of Trent's Reach. During the war, Farrar's Island became a true island when General Butler's troops built the Dutch Gap Canal, across the neck of the peninsula. In the 1870s, the Dutch Gap Canal was expanded to become the main channel of the James River, which allowed shipping to bypass the meander loop around Farrar's Island. The construction of the canal put Farrar's Island on the west side of the James River and it evolved into its present form with a tidal lagoon surrounded by woods and wetlands.