VOL XVII. NO. 38
FEBRUARY 18, 1950
Entered as second -claw matter, June I, 1933, at the Postomcc at Raleigh, North Carolina, under the Act ol March 3, 1879
Jackson’s Visit to the Dismal
This is a view of the Dismal Swamp Canal as it looked when President
Andrew Jackson was a visitor there more than a century ago. It’s from
an old lithographic print.
In the background may be seen the old Lake Drummond Hotel, which
was located on the east bank of the canal, its center resting on the
boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina. Also known as
favorite rendezvous for runaway
as well as the scene of some famous
lie apparently enjoyed
(lie informality of the
reception which he re¬
ceived from the people
in that area when he vis¬
ited there in 1829.
By EARL DEAN
OF ALL the many famous
people who have ever visited
The Great Dismal Swamp,
near Elizabeth City, few were ever
entertained more informally than
was Andrew Jackson, seventh
president of the United States. He
dined on slices of Virginia ham,
smoked beef and tongue served on
cypress shingles on the canal bank
no great distance from South
Mills. "Old Hickory" seemed to
enjoy this rustic repast for he is
said to have remarked that the
outdoor banquet prepared by his
North Carolina and Virginia ad¬
mirers reminded him of old times
in Tennessee when he often took
his meals on a log out in the woods
and where he always seemed to
have a better appetite. Fresh air
and exercise, he observed, were
the best sauces for any meal.
President Jackson visited the
Great Dismal Swamp in July, 1829,
while he was on one of his many
trips to nearby Old Point Comfort.
Va., to relax from the cares of
office at "Castle Calhoun." in
Hampton Roads, which in summer
is swept by cooling ocean breezes
from the Atlantic. The Chief Ex¬
ecutive. who was a native of
North Carolina, arrived there on
the steamboat Potomac on July 9.
1829, accompanied by Major
Eaton, his Secretary of War, and
the Hon. John Branch, his Tar
Heel Secretary of the Navy, and
a large official party from Wash¬
ington.
A few days later the President,
accompanied by the officers and
THE STATE. FEBRUARY IB, 1950
the “Half-way House, it was a
couples, determined to get married,
duels in the days when politicians
with pistols.
directors of The Dismal Swamp
Canal Company, set out in carri¬
ages from Portsmouth, Va.. to view
this important inland waterway
which had just been opened to
traffic. His Excellency boarded a
horse-drawn canal barge sent
down by the Gosport Navy Yard
and travelled six miles down the
canal until its full length came
into view, a straight waterway to
North Carolina as far as the eye
could reach. The official party then
left the barge near the Virginia-
Carolina state line for a picnic
supper served out under the tower-
ing cypress trees on the canal bank.
According to contemporary
newspapers, "Old Hickory,” then
in his 62nd year and showing the
of two states settled their quarrels
effects of a vigorous administra¬
tion which ranks as one of
the most important in American
history, enjoyed this informal
repast to the fullest.
On the return trip to Ports¬
mouth, Va., President Jackson was
entertained by Commodore James
Barron at his quarters in Gosport
Navy Yard. As the party left for
Old Point Comfort at 5:30 p.m.
that dav they passed the sloop of
war North Carolina, the frigate
Constellation, and the USS Del¬
aware, which was the largest naval
vessel afloat at that time. After
reviewing the regiment stationed
at Fortress Monroe. Va. the next
morning at 11 o’clock he returned
(Continued on page 22)
з
