Batteaux on the James

2008 marked the 23rd year that eager reenactors have gathered at Percival Island in the lower basin of the Lynchburg Old Town to celebrate the days of the batteaux. These long, narrow, flat-bottomed craft were once the only way to move commerce up and down the James River between central Virginia and Richmond.

The boats were launched at 11 am on Saturday, June 14 to begin their eight-day, 120-mile journey to Maiden’s Landing in Richmond. Along the way they stop at planned campsites to spend the night. One site is in Appomattox County in Bent Creek at the Route 60 bridge. The next site closest to Appomattox is at the Route 56 bridge over the James.

Many of the boatmen and women still prefer to do things the old fashioned way and will remain in character at every stop. They wear clothing typical of the late 17th Century when river travel was the fastest way to get around the country.

Tobacco was the principal commodity carried on the batteaux along with whiskey and cured meats to the port of Richmond. Imported and locally made manufactured goods were carried upstream from Richmond to remote settlements. The trip took approximately eight days, depending on how long the boatmen would stay at trading posts along the way.

The James River Batteau Festival is held in June on Father’s Day weekend every year to celebrate the way things were done in the early days of settlement in Virginia. When the batteaux were the only way to get trade good to and from market, a canal was dug alongside the James so that the boats would not hang up in the shallows. The canal pushed river travel up into the Blue Ridge mountains. Today the canals are no longer navigable so timed dam releases make sure that the upper part of the James is deep enough to float the boats.

These shallow draft craft are hand made from locally grown white oak and other native woods. Batteaux usually are eight- to ten-feet wide and up to 50-feet long. They must be kept wet when not in the water to prevent them drying out and becoming leaky. The Appomattox batteau was kept submerged in Holliday Lake for many years while not in use.

This annual festival draws tourists from all over to participate in the activities in the Lower Basin in Lynchburg. Many follow the craft downstream, stopping to spend time with the batteau folks at their campsites along the way. Vendors set up at the camp sites as well and offer an assortment of period clothing and artifacts, food, and tee-shirts.

After the weary batteauers are hauled out of the water at Maiden’s Landing, it is back home for another year of anticipation and planning for the next Festival.