Transportation
1
When George Washington stood here in 1772, he sought a way to open a water route to the West. Traveling over the region’s most rugged mountains was time consuming and dangerous, and new settlers needed a more efficient way to transport goods like tobacco, corn, lumber, iron ore, stone, whiskey, and wheat to market. The United States needed to control this water gap to protect its interests on both sides of the mountains. The James River, with the supporting canal, became a vital commercial and strategic waterway from Richmond’s port to Buchanan. At the lowest point along the Blue Ridge Parkway and the gateway through the Appalachian Mountains, the James River carved this gap through the mountains, and the river and the Kanawha Canal created an important transportation route first by foot then by boat, train, and automobile.
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Virginia · United States
