Pagan River
The Pagan River (Warraskoyak) is a 12.5-mile-long (20.1 km)
Formed about three miles north of Smithfield, the river runs narrow until it is joined by Cypress Creek. The Pagan then opens to a large expanse of wetlands and marsh before bottle-necking into the James River. Unlike many of the tributaries along the James, it is largely untouched by development — 88 percent of its watershed is a mix of forest, pasture, grasslands and wetlands, according to a 2001 report by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Pagan, however, played an integral role in the growth of Smithfield, a town of approximately 8,000 people best known for producing
Yet unlike other inland waterways, such as the Hampton River, the Pagan remains largely pastoral. In 2000 about 18,000 people lived in its watershed, according to the USGS. The Hampton River, less than half the Pagan's length, had a population of nearly 75,000 at the same time.[2]
The name of the river may come from the Algonquin language word for pecan (Cree pakan, Ojibway pagan, Abenaki pagann) "that which is cracked with a tool" referring to the nut. When the area was explored in the early 17th century there were many pecan trees along the banks.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
- ^ Nealon, Cory (January 13, 2010). "Watermen on the Pagan River face up to oysters' decline." Daily Press (Virginia)
- ^ Rouse, Parke (April 18, 1993). "How In The World Do You Say 'Opechancanough'?". Daily Press (Virginia). Retrieved August 28, 2014.