Even though the working batteau is no longer used, historians and river enthusiasts still keep the memory alive. Batteau crews have hand built replicas of the 18th & early 19th century flat wooden cargo vessels once used to haul tobacco to travel on an 8 day journey from Lynchburg, VA to Maiden’s Landing in Powhatan, VA. Since 1985, the James River Batteau Festival, an annual event sponsored by the Virginia Canal & Navigations Society has had as many as 25 boats and their crews travel the 120 river mile (200 km) distance each year. This event has also become very popular for kayakers and canoeists who enjoy floating along amongst the batteaus on their voyage.
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James river batteau festival
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JRBF Spring Meeting – May 19th, 2019 – Howardsville, 4PM
The annual JRBF Spring Meeting will be held on Sunday May 19th at 4pm in Howardsville. We will not be having…
Boat Flipping – April 27th, 2019
There will be a boat flipping event at Byrne Nelson’s house on Saturday April 27th, 2019. Batteau Flipping Event (there…
Annual Fall Float and Meeting of the James River Batteau Festival. Howardsville, VA, October 20th, 2018.
The JRBF fall meeting took place on October 20, 2018 at Howardsville. The day started out cool and cloudy but…