Welcome Centre, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina

We are docked at the free dock at the Welcome Centre in the middle of the Dismal Swamp. Left Elizabeth City this morning after a very rocky night there. The people of the city are so generous and friendly, and they give boaters a free dock which is great in all but South winds. Last night was a south wind, so we rocked and rolled all night. Wayne was up several times checking our lines. It was still choppy when we pulled out this morning. They were just setting up for a Farmer's Market, but we needed to leave to be at the lock in the Dismal Swamp for the 11 am opening. They only open 4 times a day, and if you miss one, you must wait for the next. As we left Elizabeth city, we went around a bend in the river and under a bridge, and the water calmed right down, it became as smooth as glass. You cannot go fast in the Dismal swamp, it is narrow and known for having stumps and logs floating up from the bottom, so we were in a convoy of several boats all just idling along. Warm day, cloudy by times, but a great day to travel. We could hear birds singing in the trees as we passed. Got to the lock in good time and locked up about 8 feet (first lock we have done since last fall in the rivers). The Welcome Centre is about 4 miles past the lock, so we were here in time for lunch.
Lots of people here, very curious about the boats and the trip we are taking. We are four boats docked here, three tied to the dock and one rafted off a sailboat. We were prepared to raft other boats on our boat as well, but no more apparently wanted to stay.In 1763, George Washington proposed draining the swamp to harvest the lumber, then farm the land. He and a group of other investors purchased 40,000 acres of swampland. Washington tired of the project and sold his portion to the father of Robert E Lee. A lumbering company did harvest the timber; they  cut the last tree down in the 1950's. The swamp is now a National Wildlife Refuge. In the 1800s, a hotel sat in the swamp astride the North Carolina/Virginia border. Edgar Allen Poe is said to have written his poem "The Raven" while staying here. The canal was dug through the swamp originally as a means to move good from inland North Carolina to Norfolk and markets there and further afield. It was finally purchased by the federal government and is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of an inland waterway, useful during times of blockade of major ports. The welcome center has bicycles that you can borrow, so we walked in the swamp over a boardwalk, then rode bikes over another trail, right into a small town about 4 miles away. Very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Got together with Jim and Gloria on Crawdad for dinner. We plan to travel through the rest of the canal tomorrow, and end up in Portsmouth, Virginia.