Ark (river boat)
Encyclopedia
An ark was a temporary boat used for river transport in eastern North America before canal
s and railroads made them obsolete.
Arks were built primarily to carry cargo downriver on the spring freshet to carry lumber
or logs and agricultural produce to a port city downriver.
Upon arrival, the cargo was sold, the ark was dismantled and its lumber was also sold, and the ark pilots returned home on foot or horseback.
Despite the slowness of the craft, it was stable and with a skilled crew was capable of maneuvering through fairly narrow points. Other river craft, usually the batteau or bateau
worked alongside the arks, ferrying the workers while the horses and bunks and supplies floated down the larger, stable structures.
Some arks in the Susquehanna River
system were up to 75 feet (22.9 m) long. The arks within the Greenbrier River
in West Virginia
averaged sixty feet save for the larger cooking arks used to feed loggers four times a day.
The village of Arkport, New York
derives its name from this type of transport.
The river ark was once a common sight along the Greenbrier River
in West Virginia
with the spring floods bringing miles of white pine
logs from Pocahontas County
to Greenbrier County. Photographs of these massive vessels were posted along the Greenbrier River Trail
at the town of Caldwell, West Virginia
. These photographs illustrate integral scenes in W. E. Blackhurst
's book, Riders of the Flood. The author based the plot along the world of the river logging era at the turn of the century within the area of the yet-to-be-created Monongahela National Forest
. He had a meticulous interest in historical detail. In it he gives one of the clearest written descriptions of the river ark:
Every September the town of Ronceverte, West Virginia
hosts the play Riders of the Flood, based on the book of the same name. In it, a scaled-down mock-up version of a river ark is part of the set and is a backdrop for the historical accuracy of the project.
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s and railroads made them obsolete.
Arks were built primarily to carry cargo downriver on the spring freshet to carry lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
or logs and agricultural produce to a port city downriver.
Upon arrival, the cargo was sold, the ark was dismantled and its lumber was also sold, and the ark pilots returned home on foot or horseback.
Despite the slowness of the craft, it was stable and with a skilled crew was capable of maneuvering through fairly narrow points. Other river craft, usually the batteau or bateau
Bateau
A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes...
worked alongside the arks, ferrying the workers while the horses and bunks and supplies floated down the larger, stable structures.
Some arks in the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
system were up to 75 feet (22.9 m) long. The arks within the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
averaged sixty feet save for the larger cooking arks used to feed loggers four times a day.
The village of Arkport, New York
Arkport, New York
Arkport is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 832 at the 2000 census. The name comes from the barges used to ship products through the village...
derives its name from this type of transport.
The river ark was once a common sight along the Greenbrier River
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
with the spring floods bringing miles of white pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
logs from Pocahontas County
Pocahontas County
Pocahontas County is the name of two counties in the United States:* Pocahontas County, Iowa* Pocahontas County, West Virginia...
to Greenbrier County. Photographs of these massive vessels were posted along the Greenbrier River Trail
Greenbrier River Trail
The Greenbrier River Trail is a rail trail operated by West Virginia State Parks. The trail is a long former railroad, now used for hiking, bicycling, ski-touring, horseback-riding, and wheel-chair use. The trail passes through numerous small towns and traverses 35 bridges and 2 tunnels as it...
at the town of Caldwell, West Virginia
Caldwell, West Virginia
Caldwell is an unincorporated community in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. Caldwell is located on U.S. Route 60 southeast of Lewisburg. Caldwell has a post office with ZIP code 24925....
. These photographs illustrate integral scenes in W. E. Blackhurst
W. E. Blackhurst
Warren E. "Tweard" Blackhurst was an author and a lifelong resident of the Cass community who centered on the culture of eastern West Virginia where the higher elevations supported northern pine forests...
's book, Riders of the Flood. The author based the plot along the world of the river logging era at the turn of the century within the area of the yet-to-be-created Monongahela National Forest
Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally-owned land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some...
. He had a meticulous interest in historical detail. In it he gives one of the clearest written descriptions of the river ark:
"The ark was built on a solid platform of logs. The heavy logs laid side by side formed a raftRaftA raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull...
sixty feet long and twenty-four feet wide. Running crosswise at each four-foot interval, lash poles (lashing (ropework) of hickoryHickoryTrees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
or locustLocustLocusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
were placed. These were about six inch in diameterDiameterIn geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
. At the point where the lash pole crossed each foundation log, a strong, U-shaped bow of bent white oakWhite oakQuercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
pinned it firmly to the log. The bows had been worked from straight lengths of oak one and a half inches square and bent to the U-shape. Both open ends were left square, and the body of the bow was shaved down and rounded. On each side of the lash pole, square holes had been cut deep into the foundation logs. Into these holes the squared ends were driven, thus bringing the bow down tight against the lash pole. A strong wedge of ash wood held each squared end tightly in place.
"Lengthwise to the long platform, and resting across the lash poles, ran six-by-six sawed timbers. These formed the foundation for the low building that was erected on the raft. They were also the support for its plank floor. The building was a plain rectangular hut of sawed lumber nailed lengthwise to upright studding. The roof was not wedged, but rounding, an effect gained by the simple expedient of bending roof boards across in a distinct bow.
"The building did not cover the entire raft floor. At each end, a six-foot length of space was left open, and along each side the walls were set in a scant two feet, leaving a narrow pathway alongside the building. On each of the four corners of the raft stood a sturdy post of peeled wood. These were the snubbing posts, and were thus placed so that the ark might be tied up from any corner. Seeing Duncan look closely at the posts, Warwick explained, "That's appleAppleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
wood—-the only wood we can find that won’t grow rough from the chafingChafingChafing when used as a nautical term describes the process of wear on a line or sail caused by constant rubbing against a hard, usually metallic, surface. Various methods are used to prevent chafing. Chafing of lines that rest on a choke on a boat can be prevented by putting a protecting material...
of a rope."
"Duncan's interest was keenly aroused by the steering arrangement. On each end of the log platform was placed a short length of log, which was securely fastened to the logs beneath. Projecting upright on this base was a smooth, strong wooden pin. The top of the pin thrust up into the handle of the long steering sweep, thus forming a pivot pointPivot pointA pivot point is a price level of significance in technical analysis of a financial market that is used by traders as a predictive indicator of market movement. A pivot point is calculated as an average of significant prices from the performance of a market in the prior trading period...
. The sweep could be swung from side to side, but always it rested securely on the smooth, upright pin.
The sweep itself was a long, tapered pole of about twenty-foot length. Six feet of the length at the small end projected across the pivoting pin onto the deck. The larger end lay out over the water. To the water end had been attached a broad wooden blade nearly ten feet long. To swing the heavy sweep and guide the cumbersome ark required the strength of two men at each of the sweep handles.
The little building was divided roughly into three parts. At each end were two stalls for horses. The center space was for the carrying of horse feed, harness, and tools, and for the sleeping quarters of the teamsters.
Every September the town of Ronceverte, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
hosts the play Riders of the Flood, based on the book of the same name. In it, a scaled-down mock-up version of a river ark is part of the set and is a backdrop for the historical accuracy of the project.