The Dismal Swamp Canal and the Roanoke River Lightship.
The Roanoke River Lightship was stationed at the mouth of the Roanoke from 1835 to 1861.
Before a permanent lighthouse stood at the river’s mouth, a lightship — a ship equipped with a powerful beacon — was anchored in the Albemarle Sound in 1835 to guide sailors safely.
Managed by local keepers like Thomas Clifton Jr., the Roanoke River Lightship was crucial to the growing river traffic. During the Civil War, fearing its use by Union forces, Confederate officials ordered the lightship removed — and it mysteriously disappeared upriver.
The Dismal Swamp Canal: A Lifeline for Trade
With the opening of the Dismal Swamp Canal, maritime traffic on the Roanoke increased so much that the U.S. Congress appropriated $10,000—about $342,000 in 2023 dollars—for a lightship, or floating lighthouse, to be anchored in the Albemarle Sound at the mouth of the Roanoke River. The Roanoke River Lightship was built in Elizabeth City and went on station in 1835
F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Dismal Swamp Canal connected inland towns like Plymouth to Norfolk’s deepwater harbor, allowing goods such as cotton, tobacco, and timber to reach national and international markets more easily.
The canal was dug largely by enslaved laborers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a project that took decades to complete under extremely difficult conditions.
In 1861, Confederate officials ordered the removal of the Roanoke River Lightship to prevent it from aiding Union forces. It was towed upriver to Williamston but mysteriously disappeared during the war.
Because the Roanoke River mouth was in shallow, shifting waters of the Albemarle Sound, anchoring a floating lightship provided a quicker, flexible solution for guiding maritime traffic before a permanent lighthouse could be built.