The Virginia Board of Historic Resources has approved an application for a state highway marker recognizing the Danville canal and Roanoke Navigation Company, submitted by Danville historian Jonathan Hackworth.
The marker’s official text will be approved at the board’s next meeting Sept. 18.
Between now and then, the board will do additional research, fact-checking and editorial work before finalizing the text, said Jennifer Loux, manager for the state highway marker program with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
“Our objective will be to cover the most historically significant elements of the topic within the 700-character length limit,” Loux wrote in the application’s acceptance letter. The board approved the marker on Thursday.
Hackworth submitted the application to introduce Danville residents and visitors to the rich history of the canal site, as it continues to evolve.
He said he hopes that the marker, which can only provide a snapshot of the canal’s story, will encourage people to do more research on their own, he said.
The canal site has a 270-year history in Danville and is a key part of the city’s plans to revitalize its riverfront.
The origin of the site goes back to about 1754, and the canal as we know it today was built in 1794. The Roanoke Navigation Company, a joint venture between Virginia and North Carolina to improve waterways, used enslaved labor to expand and improve the canal in the 1820s.
It was used for transportation and power generation for over a century. But in the next few years, the canal will be transformed into a whitewater channel used for recreation and rescue training through a city parks and recreation project.
When the channel is complete, it will use the canal’s 1882 headgate system to control the water elevation. It will be adjacent to Dan River Falls, a redeveloped textile mill on the river, and a riverfront park that is currently under construction.
These three projects represent a concentrated effort by the city to capitalize on its riverfront property.
