Maury River
Encyclopedia
The Maury River is a 42.8 miles (68.9 km) tributary
of the James River
in west-central Virginia
in the United States
. Via the James River, it is part of the watershed
of Chesapeake Bay
.
The Maury flows for its entire length in Rockbridge County
. It is formed near Goshen
by the confluence of the Calfpasture
and Little Calfpasture
rivers, and flows south past Lexington
and Buena Vista
; between the cities it collects the South River
and is paralleled by a 7 miles (11 km) rail trail
. The Maury flows into the James River at Glasgow
. The Maury River is named in honor of Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury
, and it travels past Lexington's Washington and Lee University
and Virginia Military Institute
, where Commodore Maury worked in his last years. There is a memorial tablet in stone to the commodore at Goshen Pass
.
The United States Board on Geographic Names
settled on "Maury River" as the stream's name in 1968. According to the Geographic Names Information System
, the stream (or sections thereof) has also been known historically as the "North River" and "Calfpasture River".
from the late 18th to the late 19th century, primarily carrying passengers, pig iron
, and agricultural products. Connected to the James River and Kanawha Canal
at Glasgow
, a series of canals, locks and dams allowed merchant and passenger James River bateau
x to travel the shallow, rocky river. The first canal boat reached Lexington in 1860.
The era of the canal ended fairly quickly (around 1880) along the river, as the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad and later Shenandoah Valley Railroad both built rail lines along major portions of the river which offered faster and easier transportation. Numerous artifacts remain from the canal days including several lock and dam ruins. The lock at Ben Salem Wayside between Buena Vista
and Interstate 81
on U.S. Route 60
is well preserved in a park setting. At least two dams from the canal era remain and impound water, Moomaw’s Lock and Dam below the US 60 bridge in Buena Vista, and the Lexington Mills Dam at Jordan’s Point in Lexington which formed the end of canal boat navigation. Several other lock and dam ruins, some almost complete dams, are visible along the river from the Chessie Nature Trail. The Gooseneck Dam downstream of Buena Vista is notable for being featured in a photograph by acclaimed 1950s railroad photographer O. Winston Link
.
, when the Maury River provided Lee a temporary coffin due to a dock washed away up river (source: Library Virginia Military Institute), and in 1936, 1969, 1985 and 1995. The Flood of ’69 was the result of rainfall from the inland movement of Hurricane Camille
. The Flood of ’85 resulted from the convergence of three systems, including Hurricane Juan
, which dumped tremendous amounts of rain on western Virginia. The flood of record for the lower Maury River (downstream of the confluence with the South River) including Buena Vista and Glasgow occurred on August 20, 1969, at a stage of 31.23 feet (9.5 m) on the Buena Vista gauge (flooding begins at 17 feet (5.2 m) and major flooding at 21 feet (6.4 m). The downtowns of Buena Vista and Glasgow were submerged in over 5 feet (1.5 m) of water. The upper Maury River including Lexington saw its flood of record during the Flood of 1985 when the gauging station at Rockbridge Baths
recorded a value of 19.19 feet (5.8 m) from flood marks. The difference in flooding results from differing contributions of the South River depending on rainfall in the respective watersheds.
The damage caused by the 1969 flood permanently ended railroad service to Lexington. The tracks of Richmond & Allegany Railroad successor Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad which ran along the bank of the river from its junction with the Norfolk & Western Railroad at Loch Laird (Buena Vista) to Lexington were destroyed along much of the route. Instead of rebuilding the line to Lexington, the C&O Railroad restored the tracks from Loch Laird through Buena Vista to serve several industrial customers. On September 1, 1970, the Interstate Commerce Commission
granted the C&O permission to abandon the remainder of the Lexington branch. The C&O (now CSX Transportation
) tracks end at Georgia Bonded Fibers below the US 60 bridge over the Maury River. The remaining rail bed was converted to public use as an early example of rails to trails, becoming the Chessie Nature Trail
. Due to the creation of the Chessie Nature Trail, this stretch of the Maury River is unusually accessible to pedestrians.
The James C. Olin Flood Control Project was completed in 1997 to reduce the potential for damage from flooding of the Maury River and inland streams in Buena Vista.
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
in west-central Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Via the James River, it is part of the watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
.
The Maury flows for its entire length in Rockbridge County
Rockbridge County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,808 people, 8,486 households, and 6,075 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 people per square mile . There were 9,550 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
. It is formed near Goshen
Goshen, Virginia
Goshen is a town in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States. The population was 406 at the 2000 census. The town is known amongst the Boy Scouts of America for hosting Goshen Scout Reservation, one of the largest Boy Scout camps in America....
by the confluence of the Calfpasture
Calfpasture River
The Calfpasture River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It flows about from its source, Gordons Peak in the Allegheny Mountains, to its confluence with the Little Calfpasture River, forming the Maury River. Via the Maury, the Calfpasture's waters flow into the James River, thence...
and Little Calfpasture
Little Calfpasture River
The Little Calfpasture River is a tributary of the Maury River in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is part of the James River watershed.The river rises east of Elliott Knob on Great North Mountain in the Allegheny Mountains of western Virginia, in Augusta County...
rivers, and flows south past Lexington
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
and Buena Vista
Buena Vista, Virginia
Buena Vista is an independent city located within the confines of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The population was 6,650 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Buena Vista with Rockbridge county for statistical purposes.-Geography:Buena Vista is located at...
; between the cities it collects the South River
South River (Maury River)
The South River is a tributary of the Maury River in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is part of the James River watershed.It rises southwest of Lofton in Augusta County, Virginia, near the western base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and quickly receives the Saint Marys River coming out of the...
and is paralleled by a 7 miles (11 km) rail trail
Rail trail
A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...
. The Maury flows into the James River at Glasgow
Glasgow, Virginia
Glasgow is a town in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the James and Maury Rivers. The population was 1,046 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Glasgow is located at ....
. The Maury River is named in honor of Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury
Matthew Fontaine Maury
Matthew Fontaine Maury , United States Navy was an American astronomer, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, and educator....
, and it travels past Lexington's Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
and Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
, where Commodore Maury worked in his last years. There is a memorial tablet in stone to the commodore at Goshen Pass
Goshen Pass
Goshen Pass is a water gap, or gorge, in the Little North Mountain, formed by the passage of the Maury River, approximately northwest of Lexington in Rockbridge County, Virginia. State Route 39 traverses the pass along the banks of the Maury River....
.
The United States Board on Geographic Names
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names is a United States federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government.-Overview:...
settled on "Maury River" as the stream's name in 1968. According to the Geographic Names Information System
Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...
, the stream (or sections thereof) has also been known historically as the "North River" and "Calfpasture River".
History
The Maury River was called "a branch of the North River" before the name was changed within the past few decades. It formed a portion of an all-water route from the Atlantic ports of Virginia to LexingtonLexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
from the late 18th to the late 19th century, primarily carrying passengers, pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
, and agricultural products. Connected to the James River and Kanawha Canal
James River and Kanawha Canal
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a canal in Virginia, which was built to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast....
at Glasgow
Glasgow, Virginia
Glasgow is a town in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the James and Maury Rivers. The population was 1,046 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Glasgow is located at ....
, a series of canals, locks and dams allowed merchant and passenger James River bateau
James River Bateau
The James River Bateau was a shallow draft river craft used during the period from 1775 to 1840 to transport tobacco and other cargo on the James river and its tributaries in the state of Virginia. It was flat bottomed and pointed at both ends. The length of the bateau varied greatly, 58 feet ...
x to travel the shallow, rocky river. The first canal boat reached Lexington in 1860.
The era of the canal ended fairly quickly (around 1880) along the river, as the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad and later Shenandoah Valley Railroad both built rail lines along major portions of the river which offered faster and easier transportation. Numerous artifacts remain from the canal days including several lock and dam ruins. The lock at Ben Salem Wayside between Buena Vista
Buena Vista, Virginia
Buena Vista is an independent city located within the confines of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The population was 6,650 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Buena Vista with Rockbridge county for statistical purposes.-Geography:Buena Vista is located at...
and Interstate 81
Interstate 81 in Virginia
Interstate 81 is an long highway. In the U.S. state of Virginia, I-81 runs for , making it longer in Virginia than in any other state. It stretches from the Tennessee state line near Bristol to the West Virginia state line near Winchester. U.S...
on U.S. Route 60
U.S. Route 60
U.S. Route 60 is an east–west United States highway, running from the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast in Virginia to western Arizona. Despite the final "0" in its number, indicating a transcontinental designation, the 1926 route formerly ended in Springfield, Missouri, at its intersection...
is well preserved in a park setting. At least two dams from the canal era remain and impound water, Moomaw’s Lock and Dam below the US 60 bridge in Buena Vista, and the Lexington Mills Dam at Jordan’s Point in Lexington which formed the end of canal boat navigation. Several other lock and dam ruins, some almost complete dams, are visible along the river from the Chessie Nature Trail. The Gooseneck Dam downstream of Buena Vista is notable for being featured in a photograph by acclaimed 1950s railroad photographer O. Winston Link
O. Winston Link
Ogle Winston Link , known commonly as O. Winston Link, was an American photographer. He is best known for his black-and-white photography and sound recordings of the last days of steam locomotive railroading on the Norfolk & Western in the United States in the late 1950s...
.
Floods
The Maury River has a history of destructive floods damaging nearby communities. Particularly notable were floods on Oct 12, 1870, on the death of Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, when the Maury River provided Lee a temporary coffin due to a dock washed away up river (source: Library Virginia Military Institute), and in 1936, 1969, 1985 and 1995. The Flood of ’69 was the result of rainfall from the inland movement of Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille was the third and strongest tropical cyclone and second hurricane during the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season. The second of three catastrophic Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the United States during the 20th century , which it did near the mouth of the Mississippi River...
. The Flood of ’85 resulted from the convergence of three systems, including Hurricane Juan
Hurricane Juan (1985)
Hurricane Juan was a hurricane that formed in October 1985 and looped twice near the Louisiana coast, causing torrential flooding for several days. Juan was the costliest hurricane of the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season, and at the time was among the costliest of all historical U.S. hurricanes...
, which dumped tremendous amounts of rain on western Virginia. The flood of record for the lower Maury River (downstream of the confluence with the South River) including Buena Vista and Glasgow occurred on August 20, 1969, at a stage of 31.23 feet (9.5 m) on the Buena Vista gauge (flooding begins at 17 feet (5.2 m) and major flooding at 21 feet (6.4 m). The downtowns of Buena Vista and Glasgow were submerged in over 5 feet (1.5 m) of water. The upper Maury River including Lexington saw its flood of record during the Flood of 1985 when the gauging station at Rockbridge Baths
Rockbridge Baths, Virginia
Rockbridge Baths is an unincorporated community in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States....
recorded a value of 19.19 feet (5.8 m) from flood marks. The difference in flooding results from differing contributions of the South River depending on rainfall in the respective watersheds.
The damage caused by the 1969 flood permanently ended railroad service to Lexington. The tracks of Richmond & Allegany Railroad successor Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad which ran along the bank of the river from its junction with the Norfolk & Western Railroad at Loch Laird (Buena Vista) to Lexington were destroyed along much of the route. Instead of rebuilding the line to Lexington, the C&O Railroad restored the tracks from Loch Laird through Buena Vista to serve several industrial customers. On September 1, 1970, the Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
granted the C&O permission to abandon the remainder of the Lexington branch. The C&O (now CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
) tracks end at Georgia Bonded Fibers below the US 60 bridge over the Maury River. The remaining rail bed was converted to public use as an early example of rails to trails, becoming the Chessie Nature Trail
Chessie Nature Trail
The Chessie Nature Trail is a rail trail linking Buena Vista, Virginia with Lexington, Virginia along the Maury River.The trail follows the roadbed of a former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway branch line which extended from Glasgow, Virginia, to Lexington, primarily following the Maury...
. Due to the creation of the Chessie Nature Trail, this stretch of the Maury River is unusually accessible to pedestrians.
The James C. Olin Flood Control Project was completed in 1997 to reduce the potential for damage from flooding of the Maury River and inland streams in Buena Vista.