Falling Creek - Historical Notes

Historical Notes

• In 1619, Falling Creek Ironworks (located just east of the modern-day Jefferson Davis Highway) became the first iron furnace in the North America. The site is now owned by Chesterfield County and is scheduled to become a park.

• In 1621, Falling Creek was the site of the first lead mines in North America.

• From 1750-1781, the port town of Warwick was located at the confluence of Falling Creek with the James River. During this period it was also the site of Chesterfield or Cary's Forge. This was a finery forge used to convert high carbon pig iron to low carbon iron which was built and operated by Archibald Cary of Ampthill Plantation. On April 30, 1781, General Benedict Arnold's British troops burned the town, destroying ships, warehouses, mills, tannery storehouses, and ropewalks. The Lost Town of Warwick no longer exists, but its place in history is noted on a Virginia Historical Marker nearby. The area where Warwick was located is occupied by the Spruance Plant and related industrial complex of the DuPont Company.

• Midlothian area coal mines of the Richmond Basin were located along Falling Creek near the point of origin. From a point there in the valley created by on Falling Creek, the Chesterfield Railroad, the first railroad in Virginia, was built beginning in the late 1820s to transport the product to port at the Town of Manchester (which later became South Richmond).

Falling Creek can be visited via at least one public park, the Hanover Wayside public park located at 8225 Hanover Wayside Road in Hanover, Virginia. The creek is located just beyond a passive recreational area and adjacent to wooded trails. At this point it is almost stagnant - with marsh like vegetation. The remains of an old dam are still in existence in this vicinity. A map of the park can be found at the following web address: http://www.co.hanover.va.us/parksrec/parkinfo_files/wp_map.pdf