Chowan River
TheChowan River(cho-WAHHN)[1]is ablackwater riverformed with the merging of Virginia'sBlackwaterandNottowayrivers near the state line betweenVirginiaand North Carolina. According to theUSGSa variant name is Choan River.[2]
Flowing for approximately 50 miles (80 km) before ending in theAlbemarle SoundonNorth Carolina's coast, the river drains about 4,800 square miles (12,000 km2) of land in North Carolina and Virginia. Flowing through mostly swamp land with occasional high ground, the Chowan River grows to nearly two miles wide (3 km) at its opening to the Albemarle Sound. The river offers excellent fishing for catfish and largemouth bass. While tidal, the variation in tide heights in the Chowan River are normally less than one foot (30 cm) between high and low tide. The average depth is 16 feet and the maximum depth is 40 feet around Holiday Island.
The Eden House bridge on US Route 17 marks the border between the Chowan River and Albemarle Sound.
Significant tributaries include Bonds Creek, theMeherrin River,Bennett's Creek (which connects the Chowan River with Merchant's Millpond State Park), and the Wiccacon River.
The river featured prominently in the Civil War in the region. As part of the Union plan to destroy theWilmington and Weldon Railroad,Union ships sailed up the Chowan river, bombarding small Confederate posts outside ofHarrellsville, North Carolina(at Deep Creek, also known as Swain's Mill Creek) and outside ofCofield, North Carolina(at Petty's Shore, where an old bunker is still visible in the landscape). By the time the ships reachedWinton, North Carolina,the local troops had been alerted to the oncoming ships. Hiding in the woods near the dock for an ambush, the Confederate battalion at Winton sent a slave girl down to the Union boats to tell them that the locals had fled in fear of a Union attack. The ambush was foiled, however, when a Union soldier saw the gleam of the sun on a musket barrel in the woods. The Union ships quickly pulled anchor, regrouped, and returned minutes later to burn Winton to the ground. That same Union fleet would go on to land atMurfreesboro, North Carolina(via the Meherrin River) and march west to the railroad atWeldon.
The Chowan River is one of the three oldest surviving English place names in the United States. Along withRoanoke Islandand theNeuse River,it was named in 1584 by CaptainsPhilip AmadasandArthur Barlowe,sent to explore the region bySir Walter Raleigh.Their "Chowanook", orChowanoc,name was shortened to Chowan.[3]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Talk Like A TarheelArchived2013-06-22 at theWayback Machine,from the North Carolina Collection's website at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Retrieved 2013-02-08.
- ^U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Chowan River
- ^Stewart, George(1945).Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States.New York: Random House. pp. 21, 22.
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