Herring (Heron) Ditch

Herring Ditch was one of many ditches that connected with the Dismal Swamp Canal. Ditches were used to transport goods to the canal, allow access to swamp timber, and provide drainage. Walter Herron, a Dismal Swamp Canal Company stockholder, began the construction of Herring Ditch in the mid-1820s as a millrace that ran from the canal eastward three miles to present Shillelagh Road. It was later extended north to connect with the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River providing a link between the Dismal Swamp and the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canals. The ditch also later linked the Lindsay Canal to the Dismal Swamp Canal. The ditch's access to the Dismal Swamp Canal was closed by the 1920s, when U.S. Route 17 was constructed.