Lead photo: Lynda Richardson
In autumn 1607, a short, tough Englishman with crew came rowing a small boat up the Chickahominy people’s home river. It was a big tributary of the Powhatan, whose mouth lay 7 miles upriver from Jamestown. He wanted to trade copper utensils, iron hatchets, beads and trinkets for corn.
We now know that stumpy Englishman was Capt. John Smith, and it’s already been almost two decades since the National Park Service created an 1,800-mile National Historic Trail that follows his explorations of the Chesapeake Bay. Smith had converted his extensive notes into an extraordinarily accurate map that he published in 1612. It laid the foundation for all that has happened here since.
In fact, Smith’s map is so accurate, you can build a three-day October cruise around it, following his wake up what is arguably the Chickahominy’s loveliest season.
Let’s begin down the James at the marina of Fort Monroe, the Park Service national monument overlooking Hampton Roads, where that river meets the Chesapeake and looks out to the Atlantic. The Chickahominy’s mouth lies 40 nautical miles upstream. And let’s say you’re taking your Back Cove 34O south for the winter, or you’re a local who berths a Judge 36 Chesapeake at Fort Monroe Marina. Both boats cruise efficiently at 15 knots, enough speed to cover water but not fast enough to blur your surroundings. From start to finish, there will be plenty to see and to consider about how the rivers’ human history and natural resources have intertwined over the centuries.
Making a two-way run helps to fix the trip in memory. To paraphrase one of my teachers, the run upriver gives you the plot; the return helps you notice details. Two resources can help you plan: A Boater’s Guide to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, and John Smith in the Chesapeake, a day-by-day chronicle of Smith’s travels here.
Up the James
The James is a major East Coast river, rising on Virginia’s western Allegheny Highlands and flowing 340 miles east to meet the lower Chesapeake Bay between Fort Monroe and Norfolk. Though the view here is industrial, the land was forested when the English arrived.
The 40-nautical-mile run to the Chickahominy passes Newport News on the north, with its (commercial) small boat harbor, shipping terminal and shipyard. Opposite lie the Nansemond River (and the Pagan River, home to Smithfield’s famous hams. The channel here swings west and north, with powerful currents driven by the river’s 10,000-square-mile watershed. Between the marshes and woods of Mulberry Island on the north (Fort Eustis Military Reservation) and Burwell’s Bay to the south lie massive oyster reefs. You’ll see them on your chartplotter and depth sounder, with watermen harvesting them from low-slung Chesapeake deadrise workboats. Follow the channel’s line of buoys.
Next, the James turns west, with the Hog Island Wildlife Management Area and Dominion Power’s Surry Nuclear Power Station on the inside. As the river swings through another bend, you’ll see Jamestown Island on the north bank, with a statue of Smith looking out over the river. You’ll also pass one of the public ferries that cross the James here, and see the working replica Jamestowne ships.
Into the Chickahominy
Six miles on, turn north into the Chickahominy and head under the Route 5 Bridge (vertical clearance is 52 feet). The land on the east side is James City County, and on the west is Charles City County. Anglers probe the river’s cypress knees and marsh guts here for largemouth bass. With the wild rice dying off, the plants’ grains are drawing migratory ducks.
Keep an eye peeled for bald eagles and great blue herons. There’s a narrow reach where the depth drops to 70 feet, a reminder of this 87-mile-long tributary’s power. From here, it will meander back and forth between cypress-fronted high banks and broad tidal freshwater marshes. The Chickahominy people used this alternating pattern to establish villages on the outsides of the meanders while foraging edible plants from the marshes inside. They saw the river as uniting these two resources, not dividing them. It’s no surprise that former village sites Smith mapped often became English settlements. An example is Mattapanient, on the east bank just above Yarmouth and Shipyard Creeks.
Today, the site holds private houses. After the Mattapanient people left, it supported an 18th- and 19th-century shipyard whose railway timbers still show on Google Earth at low tide. For much of the 20th century, local watermen landed their catches here. Afterward, it became a filming site for the 2005 movie The New World, including beautiful cinematography of the river. The director hired current members of the Chickahominy tribe as actors and extras.
Smith and his crew discovered more towns upriver, where shoreline and marsh opposite have served humans for centuries. Here you’ll find River’s Rest Marina & Resort along the Charles City shore. It offers a motel, swimming pool and restaurant, the Blue Heron. The marina provides transient slips, fuel (gas only), 30-amp service (110 volts), pumpout, water hookup and launch ramp, with reservations recommended. My skiff and I highly endorse River’s Rest and its Chickahominy setting, which we’ve known for decades.
At this point, you’ve covered 52 nautical miles from Fort Monroe. Reserve a slip for two nights, make River’s Rest your base of operations, and eat at the Blue Heron. A narrow, powerful tidal river like the Chickahominy doesn’t favor nights on the hook. There’s limited room to swing on tide changes.
Second Day: Up to Mamanahunt and Walker’s Dam
Above River’s Rest, the river continues meandering, with several suburban communities on the east side. The first covers both sides of the peninsula immediately north. Going upstream past it, follow the channel’s green buoys hugging the James City side. The inside of this turn is full of obstructions. With easy access to Interstate 64, these houses lie within commuting distance to Richmond, Williamsburg and Newport News. Fortunately, the river’s extensive wetlands preserve its natural character.
In contrast, the Charles City side remains rural. Just upriver lies a wooded, marsh-fringed peninsula with 4 miles of shoreline. Your chart may mark it as Willcox Neck, but Smith’s map marked it as Mamanahunt, the Chickahominy chief’s town. Three years ago, the Tribe reacquired the peninsula and restored its name; now the tribe is working with William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University to restore the land, which several centuries of owners used for farming, timber harvest, hunting and fishing. The tribe plans to reconnect its members—especially young people—to their river and open it to public ecotourism.
Opposite Mamanahunt is another large community, built on tall cliffs. Your depth sounder will show 35 to 40 feet, with a hard bottom as the current sweeps through a hairpin turn. On the north side of Mamanahunt, pay close attention to the channel. The peninsula’s shoreline holds several wrecks. At its upstream base lies Barrows Creek, a lovely waterway to discover by paddlecraft (as the Chickahominy people do). You may see anglers working points, cypress knees, duck blinds and channel edges for bass, which thrive on a rich base of gizzard shad, spottail shiners and other forage that also supports river otters.
The next 2.5 nm wind around Turner’s Neck to Walker’s Dam. During World War II, the U.S. War Department erected the dam to ensure a water supply for Newport News Shipbuilding. After the war, Newport News bought the dam for water supply. It impounds 7 miles of formerly tidal river, creating Chickahominy Lake, which also offers excellent fishing.
Smith traded with five more tribal villages above here. The dam, though, makes this the turnaround for your Chickahominy cruise. Head back down to River’s Rest and the Blue Heron, running as slowly as your schedule permits. Looking downriver now will help you fix all you see in memory, camera and logbook. Pay attention to the expanses of marsh and wooded swamp, along with the repeating pattern of Native villages and modern home sites. Watch for eagles, herons and ducks. And realize that the land you’re looking at grew the corn that sustained the Jamestown colony through its first winter.
Third Day: Back to the James and downriver to Fort Monroe
It’s 12 nm to the mouth of the Chickahominy, another 6 nm to Jamestown, and from there 34 nm to Fort Monroe. You then have options for the run home, including lunch. Near Jamestown, call the Surry Seafood Company for a reservation and cross the river into the mouth of Gray’s Creek to their marina. You’ll have an easy afternoon run back to Fort Monroe. —John Page Williams
