A barely perceptible ridge line near Main Street divides water flowing east to the Atlantic Ocean through the Roanoke River basin from water flowing west to the Gulf of Mexico through the New, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers. In October 1763, by Royal Proclamation, King George III forbade Virginians to settle west of this line. Virginians considered taking up western land their natural right, and shutting off access to it was a provocation that accelerated the building momentum in Virginia for the coming American Revolution.