The Dismal Swamp Canal is oldest continuously used canal in the country. The Canal was chartered by Virginia in 1787 and North Carolina in 1790. It was opened to traffic in 1806, connecting the Chesapeake Bay with the Albemarle Sound. The Canal is now part of the Intracoastal Waterway/
The area was visited by William Byrd II when was surveying the boundary between Virgina and North Carolina. In 1763, George Washington explored the area and organized the Dismal Swamp Company to drain it for farmland. The Great Dismal Swamp is now a National Wildlife Refuge.