New Canton, Virginia facts for kids

New Canton is a small community in Buckingham County, Virginia, United States. It's not an official town with its own local government, but it has a post office that serves the area. New Canton is located near the James River and U.S. Route 15.

History of New Canton

How New Canton Started

In November 1793, the Virginia General Assembly (Virginia's state government) decided to create a new town called "New Canton." This town was planned in Buckingham County, right by the James River. The land chosen was about 25 acres (10 hectares) on a high bank above Cannon's Ferry, a place where people crossed the river by boat.

This land was divided into 45 small lots, each about half an acre. There were also plans for streets to run through the town. The land for New Canton was given by William Cannon, whose family had owned it since 1743. He hoped the new town would grow and make his other nearby land more valuable.

The lots were sold at a public auction, where people bid to buy them. Anyone who bought a lot had seven years to build a "habitable dwelling house" (a house people could live in). This house had to be at least 16 feet (about 5 meters) square and have a chimney made of brick or stone. A large building for storing tobacco, called "Cannon's Warehouse," was also planned.

At first, not many lots were sold. So, in 1802, the government gave buyers five more years to build their houses. The tobacco warehouse was finished by 1804. It became known as the "Public Warehouse" and was used for many years.

In its early days, New Canton was known as a lively place. It had several bars, even though there were fewer than 40 houses. From the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s, people also dug for iron and gold in mines around New Canton. You can still see the remains of an old iron factory and some mines today.

Mid-1800s Changes

The only church ever built in New Canton was [Trinity Presbyterian Church], which was finished in 1840. It's still used as a church today. Later, in the mid-1880s, a local businessman built a small, private Catholic chapel. This building later became the New Canton post office until the 1960s, and it still stands today.

In 1840, the James River and Kanawha Canal was built on the other side of the James River, across from New Canton. A canal is a waterway built by people to help boats travel. This canal allowed larger "packet boats" (which carried people) and "freight boats" (which carried goods) to travel to and from Richmond. Before the canal, smaller, flat-bottomed boats called batteaux were used. A bridge was built to connect New Canton to the canal.

Many people, including George Washington, had dreamed of building this canal. However, it was never fully completed as planned. The canal and its bridge near New Canton were destroyed by Union soldiers during the American Civil War (1861–1865). The canal was fixed after the war, but fewer boats used it because railroads were becoming more popular.

After trying for many years to compete with railroads, the James River and Kanawha Canal was sold to a new railroad company in 1880. Workers quickly built train tracks on the canal's towpath (a path next to the canal where horses or mules used to pull boats). This new railroad, called the Richmond and Allegheny Railroad, offered a way to travel from the Appalachian Mountains all the way to Richmond. Later, in 1888, this railroad became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.

Late 1800s and Early 1900s

In the mid-1880s, New Canton saw a big change when a railroad bridge was built over the James River. This bridge connected New Canton to the Bremo Bluff side of the river. A new road was built nearby to reach this bridge. The bridge had planks laid on it, so wagons and people could cross, as well as trains. Locals called it the "Combination Bridge" because it was used for both trains and road traffic. The old ferry and its road were no longer used.

New Canton didn't become a huge city, but it was a busy place in the 1800s and early 1900s. It had a place to tan animal hides, a mill for grinding grain, a tobacco warehouse, a saw mill, several bars, a hotel, general stores, and a post office. In the early 1900s, it also had gas pumps, a Ford automobile dealership, and an orchard.

New Canton Today

As cars became popular in the early 1900s, they also used the Combination Bridge. The main highway, which became U.S. Route 15, went right through New Canton. This brought more business to the community, but it didn't last long. In 1934, a new highway bridge opened a short distance west of the town. This new bridge created a bypass, meaning through traffic no longer went directly through New Canton.

Over the second half of the 1900s, businesses in New Canton slowly closed down. Today, there are no businesses left, and fewer than ten houses are still lived in on the original lots. The most active part of New Canton is still its post office, which has been open continuously since the early 1800s, though it has moved to different buildings over the years. This post office serves a large area around the community.

Notable Person from New Canton

Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950) was an African-American teacher, educator, and historian who was born and grew up near New Canton. He is famous for starting Black History Week, which later became Black History Month. Dr. Woodson is known as the "Father of Black History."