Welcome to the Roanoke Canal Museum and Trail! Located in Halifax County, North Carolina, the museum and trail offer a diverse selection of indoor and outdoor activities for people of all ages who visit Roanoke Rapids and Weldon.

     Guests learn when they arrive at the museum and trailhead kiosks that the Roanoke Canal is nearly 200 years old. After the American War of Independence, the young nation’s founding fathers sought to open trade and transportation into their western frontier. In North Carolina and Virginia, that meant developing the Roanoke River into a water highway. By 1815, an agreement between the two states established the Roanoke River Navigation Company and charged it with clearing the river and building a canal around the “great falls” near present-day Roanoke Rapids. In 1823, the canal’s channel, locks, culverts, and aqueduct were complete and for the first time boats – known by their French name bateau or batteau – could pass the Piedmont’s fall line and travel westward into the interior. This created a new destination for trade and commerce at present-day Weldon where ships coming from the Albemarle met with the batteau coming downstream. Soon afterward, the “Wharfs at Weldon” became the destination for railroads – like the Weldon and Wilmington Railroad – and created an even larger center for trade. The railroads, however, eventually outpaced the canal and caused it to close as a transportation resource in 1880.

     In 1882, new investors purchased the canal and developed it into a source of water power to generate electricity. By 1900, two powerhouses were in full operation but they were not destined to last long. Competition with a newer adjoining power canal, high maintenance costs, and the need for larger hydroelectric facilities put the navigation canal out of business for a second time in 1912.

     The property was again sold, this time to the predecessors of Dominion Power Company, and facilities like the powerhouses served as maintenance and civic service buildings for several decades. In an effort to save the remains of the original navigation canal and its associated architectural features, the Roanoke Canal Commission was established to acquired the property or right of way and begin preservation and restoration efforts. In 1976, the remnants of the canal were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the trail follows the canal’s original tow path for 7.2 miles between Roanoke Lake and Weldon. The Roanoke Canal Museum is the newest addition and located where the trail crosses Roanoke Avenue in Roanoke Rapids. The museum holds many exhibits about the history of the Roanoke River Valley, the engineering feats of the canal, and its later use as a source of hydroelectric power. The western trailhead is located at Roanoke Lake Day Use Park and the eastern trailhead is at River Falls Park in Weldon. Click the buttons above to learn about each location and the diverse history of the Roanoke Canal.