The Blackwater River of southeastern Virginia flows from its source near the city of Petersburg, Virginia for about 105 miles (170 km) through the Inner Coastal Plain region of Virginia (part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain). The Blackwater joins the Nottoway River to form the Chowan River, which empties into Albemarle Sound.
After the English settlement of Virginia, the lands west of the Blackwater was the Nottoway Parish of Isle of Wight County. In 1749, these land were separated from Isle of Wight County to form Southampton county.
As early as 1713 a place called South Quay, six and a half miles downriver from Franklin was becoming an important trade port. By 1777 South Quay was known as the leading interior port to the Tidewater area. Large warehouses were storing tobacco, pork and other goods for export and import. The South Quay venture eventually also became a shipyard and built two ships, the Caswell and the Washington, that helped defend the coast from the British fleet in 1777/78.[1] On July 16, 1781, English Lieutenant Colonel Dundas was dispatched by Cornwallis to destroy South Quay,[2][3] ending the commercial activity of what today is called Old South Quay.
The city of Franklin lies on its west bank at the river's head of navigation. While canoes and other small boats and navigate the waters upstream of Franklin, in the steamboat era, navigation for larger vessels was restricted to the river downstream of Franklin.
The Blackwater River originates in several swamps within, or just south of, the city of Petersburg. It flows southeast through Prince George County, where it is called Blackwater Swamp. It then forms part of the border between Surry County and Sussex County, where its name becomes Blackwater River. It collects tributaries called Warwick Swamp, Otterdam Swamp, Coppahaunk Swamp, and Cypress Swamp. In southern Surry County, the Blackwater River turns south and forms the border between Isle of Wight County and Southampton County. It collects tributaries called Terrapin Swamp, Antioch Swamp, Seacock Swamp, Corrowaugh Swamp, and Kingsale Swamp.
See the article at WikipediaA.
[1]Paullin, Charles Oscar (1906). The Navy of the American Revolution, p. 456. Cleveland: The Burrow Brothers Company.
[2]Ashe, Samuel A'Court (1908). History of North Carolina: From 1584 to 1783, Vol. I, p. 684. Greensboro, N.C.: Charles L. Van Noppen.
[3]Beatson, Robert (1804). Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain, Vol. V, p. 250. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme.