James River (Virginia)
The
James River in the
U.S. state of
Virginia is 547.160 km (340 miles) long and drains a
watershed comprising 27,019 km² (10,432 square miles), including about 4% open water, an area with a population of 2.5 million people (2000). It is the largest river in the
United States that remains entirely in a single state.
The James River forms in the
Allegheny Mountains, near
Iron Gate on the border between
Alleghany and
Botetourt counties from the
confluence of the
Cowpasture and
Jackson Rivers, and flows into the
Chesapeake Bay at
Hampton Roads. Tidal waters extend west to
Richmond, the capital of Virginia, at its
fall line, (the
head of navigation). Larger tributaries draining to the tidal portion include the
Appomattox River,
Chickahominy River,
Pagan River,
Warwick River,
Nansemond River, and
Elizabeth River.
The
Native Americans called the James River the
Powhatan River. The English colonists named it "James" after King
James I of England, as they also did their first permanent
English settlement in the Americas in
1607 at
Jamestown, along the banks of the James River.
Navigation of the river played an important role in early Virginia commerce and the settlement of the interior. Produce from the
Piedmont and
Great Valley regions traveled down the river to seaports at Richmond through such port towns as
Lynchburg,
Scottsville,
Columbia and
Buchanan. Below the falls at Richmond, many
James River plantations had their own wharfs, and additional ports and early railheads were located at
City Point,
Claremont,
Scotland, and
Smithfield.
James River and Kanawha Canal
The James River was also considered as a route for transport of produce from the
Ohio Valley. The
James River and Kanawha Canal was built for this purpose, to provide a link between the James and the
Kanawha River, a tributary of the
Ohio River and the
Mississippi River. However, before it could be fully completed, in the mid-19th century,
railroads emerged as a more practical technology and eclipsed
canals for economical transportation. In the 1880s, the
Richmond and Allegheny Railroad was laid along the eastern portion of the canal's towpath. In modern times, this rail line serves as a water-level route of
CSX Transportation, used primarily in transporting
West Virginia coal to export
coal piers at
Newport News.
American Civil War
During the
American Civil War, the
XVIII Corps and
X Corps of the
Union Army merged to form the
Army of the James, named after the river. During the war the army took part in many battles and military operations along the river. Confederate defenses at
Drewry's Bluff, about 8 miles below Richmond at a major bend in the river, were key to defending the Confederate Capital against the powerful Union Navy. These defenses were a subtantial obstacle to Union leaders, and held from 1862-1865, and were only abandoned after the fall of Petersburg on April 5, 1865.
The James River also contains numerous parks and other recreational attractions. Canoeing, fishing, kayaking, hiking, and swimming are some of the activities that people enjoy along the river during the summer. From the rivers start in the
Blue Ridge mountains to
Richmond, Virginia, numerous rapids and pools offer fishing and white water rafting. After the
fall line and continuing east of Richmond, the river is better suited for water skiing and other large boat recreation.
In the
Hampton Roads area, the river is as much as 5-mile (8 km) wide at points. Due to ocean-going shipping upriver as far as the Port of Richmond, a combination of
ferryboats, high
bridges and
bridge-tunnels are used for highway traffic. Crossings east to west include:
*The
Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel*The
James River Bridge*The
Jamestown Ferry (toll-free)
*The
Benjamin Harrison Bridge near Hopewell. This is a
drawbridge on
VA 156 which replaced ferry service in 1966. It was the site of major collision of a ship in 1977.
*The
Varina-Enon Bridge is a high
cable-stayed bridge carrying
I-295 which was the second of its type in the U.S. when it was completed.
*The
Pocahontas Parkway (VA-895) uses a high-level bridge to connect to
VA-150 at
I-95.
The VA-895 high level crossing is the last bridge east of the Port of Richmond and head of ocean-going navigation at the
fall line of the James River. West of this point, potential flooding is more of an engineering concern than clearance for watercraft.
The river quite literally divides Richmond since it merged with its smaller sister city of
Manchester in 1910.
Major highway bridges above the
fall line at Richmond (head of navigation) include (east to west)
*
I-95 bridge (former
Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike)
*
Mayo Bridge (
US 360)
*
Manchester Bridge (
US 60)
*
Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge (
US 1-
301*
Boulevard Bridge (
VA-161) (toll and major weight restrictrions)
*
Powhite Parkway Bridge (
VA-76) (toll)
*
Huguenot Memorial Bridge (
VA-147)
*
Edward E. Willey Bridge (
VA-150)
*
World War II Veterans Memorial Bridge (
VA-288)
Some of the additional bridges located upstream of the Richmond area are located at:
*
Maidens (
US 522)
*
Cartersville*
Columbia*
Bremo Bluff (
US 15)
*
Scottsville*
Howardsville.
*
Springwood Much like Richmond, the river divides the city of
Lynchburg, and there are several crossings, including one for major north-south route
US 29.
Above Lynchburg,
US 501 crosses near
Balcony Falls (where the river passes through the
Blue Ridge Mountains through a
water gap). Further upstream, near its head, the river passes under
Interstate 81 near
Buchanan on an unnamed bridge.
The
James River Bridge and the
Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel prohibit bicycles, but bicyclists may take the
Jamestown Ferry. [
1] After a fatal accident on the
Boulevard Bridge, the City of Richmond passed a local ordinance that bicyclists on bridges across the river within the city limits, where permitted, must dismount and walk using sidewalks while crossing. Bicycles and pedestrians are not permitted at all on the
Powhite Parkway and
I-95 bridges in the city. The
Manchester Bridge has provision for bicycles and pedestrians between its traffic lanes, and the
Mayo Bridge and the
Huguenot Bridge have walkways on each side.
*The James River is the longest waterway that is wholly contained in one state (Virginia) in the United States.
*The
College of William and Mary and State of Virginia's program for
peregrine falcons uses the high towers of several James River bridges as breeding and nesting sites.
*In 1977, a major collision with a ship put the
Benjamin Harrison Bridge out of service for more than a year.
*In the town of
Buchanan, in
Botetourt County, the high school is named after the James River. So is another high school in
Chesterfield County and an elementary school in
James City County.
*The James River Reserve Fleet, part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet, known locally as the "Ghost Fleet", is anchored in James River at
Mulberry Island and
Fort Eustis near
Newport News.
*
List of Virginia rivers*
James River Bateau*
Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Profile James River
*
Heritage of the James River Talk by Ann Woodlief at James River Symposium, 1995
*
James River Association
