Record #:

22864

Author(s):

Kammerer, Roger

Abstract:

The Tar River was the lifeline of Greenville and many other Eastern North Carolina towns. To open it to more boat traffic and to increase economic growth, efforts were made to convert the Tar River into a locked river by building dams. In 1848/49 NC Legislature passed an appropriation of $25,000 to clean out the Tar River. A Colonel W.B. Thompson in 1853 stated that the river needed low dams and locks--at Sycamore Shoal, Bryant's Creek, Walston's Landing, and a half-mile from Sparta. In 1854 Colonel Thompson began building the locks, but the work was suspended in 1857. Another partial dam was built through the low grounds North of the river to the bridge in 1892.

Source:

Greenville Times / Pitt's Past (NC Microforms), Vol. Issue , Feb 28-Mar 13 1990, p6-7

Subject(s):

Dams--Tar River; Tar River--Dams