View - Upper Reach, Roanoke River Basin Association

Four Rivers Water Trail
Staunton River State Park . Halifax County,Virginia
County Virginia
"THE RIVER WAS BOILING AND LEAPING OVER THE RAGGED ROCKS.......which showed their
black backs in a whirlpool of tormented water... I tried to guide the boat, but might as well have tried to guide a balloon. It went leaping and plunging
along for a few minutes, and then was high on a rock...I could not get ashore by wading or swimming: if I had I should have been brusied to death in
a moment on the ragged rocks."
Adrift in Dixie: Or a Yankee Officer Among the Rebels - by Henry L. Estabrooks, 1866 . said of his escape down the Dan River through Hico Falls in a dug out canoe
Islands at the river's mouth - Staunton River State Park
Aaron's Creek Access
Buffalo Park
58
o
Hyco Landing
c
Hy
3 mi.
North
n's
Aaro
767
ch
Bran
e
n
lsto
Mil
COUNTY
er
Riv
4 mi.
1 mi.
722
6 mi.
ek
HALIFAX
Cre
lo
ffa
Bu
722
2 mi.
1 mi.
0 mi.
Buffalo WMA
Ro
H
Hyco
(Pollard's)
Island
John H. Kerr Lake
E
s
nk
8 mi.
er
ow
Ba
L
Branch
Staunton
View
Access
9 mi.
Line
Russell's
(Totero)
Island
YOU ARE HERE
Abbyville
Harris's
Island
ill
wm
Da
n
Branch
J
cur
14 mi.
K
ren
t
L
ch
15 mi.
k
ee
Cr
203 mi.
Peter
Creek
16 mi.
River
1 mi.
e
Wolf Trap Access
di
Jeffress
Island
ar
716
716
ee
k
Cl
Hogan
Creek WMA
Cr
204 mi.
2 mi.
Banister River
Ri
v
South WMA
er
Creek
Cr
ee
Pe
Dryburg
205 mi.
Ri
716
ve
r
DRYBURG RD
726
To Scottsburg
KeytotoPoints
Points
Interest
Key
ofof
Interest
1890's Somervell Ferry (Clarksville) carrying distilled spirits from
Jeffress
Roanoke River batteaux (ca. 1800's)
Gibson
rg
ill's
nt
Ca
COUNTY
re
on
Scale in Miles
HALIFAX
r
cu
nt
1
au
1/2
344
St
CHARLOTTE
COUNTY
k
te
r
D
Hupp's Mill - Halifax County (ca. 1884)
M
Ch
er
k
Ho
ga
n
Cr
ee
C
15
0
17 mi.
ry
699
Sa
I
a
Br
Staunton River State Park
B 202 mi.
A
h
nc
13 mi.
an
Staunton
View Park
12mi.
11 mi.
Use South
Boston Water
Intake for
Upstream
Access
Chatman
10 mi.
F
7 mi.
0 mi.
Br
l)
ne
an
ch
r
G
Branch
ive
R
ke
Hyco
Flats
Lick
o
an
r(
ive
nR
Paddle Tips - Exploring among the islands and mouths of the
four rivers (Dan, Hyco, Banister and Staunton) offers many
route options. Plan your trip with wind and currents in mind.
Headwinds make paddling difficult and tiring. Flood conditions
expand the access to the many upper reaches, provide a
helpful current if paddling from upstream but can also create
obvious hazards. Low water conditions reveal a landscape
that is more consitent with the times of early navigation.
Exercise caution when traversing the flats on foot as the
sands can be deep and saturated with water (quick sand).
MECKLENBURG
COUNTY
k
ee
Cr
Ck
The Dan River Atlas, (W. E. Trout, III - Virginia Canals & Navigations
Society)
To learn more please contact www.upperreach.org.
nto
"They made very slow progress against the rapid current.
Placing a long pole firmly on the river bottom, the men
walked from bow to stern; the pole resting on their
shoulders, and held firmly in their hands. Then they
dragged the pole back to the bow, and repeated the
process. I thanked my stars I was not obliged to return up
river." - Adrift In Dixie (H.L. Estabrooks 1866)
"The old sluices, walls and rapids are [now]
buried under deposits of sand. Even when the
lake is down they cannot be seen. The falls are
quiet now."
u
Sta
Before the lake inundated Hyco (Hico) Falls, the lower
Dan River presented dangerous navigational hazards to
those who traveled its waters by boat. The waters from
the Banister, to Abbyville and on to Clarksville, were a
crossroads for much trade and travel. Grist mills,
sawmills, ferries, boatyards, villages and towns dotted the
shorelines. Gold and copper mines were common in the
surrounding hillsides.
RR
3 mi.
2013 RRBA-UpperReach
upperreach.org
I
A
Old Abbyville
E
Jeffress Chute (Upper Thoroughfare)
(inundated)
B
Site of Abbyville Mill (ca. 1870)
F
The Walls of Jericho
C
Clay's Quarry - at edge of lake
G
Site of Blanks Ferry (ca.
1727)
L
Site of King's Mill (ca. 1870's)
D
Jeffrey's (Jeffress) Canal (ca. 1863)
H
Little Hyco Falls (inundated)
M
Site of Slabtown & sawmill on left bank,
Nichol's Ferry (ca. 1870's)
Big Hyco Falls, mill race & mill site
(inundated)
J K Site of Jone's Lower & Upper Boatyards
(ca. 1879)