Southside VA News

January FSO- Hike Matrimony Creek & Celebrate Year of the Trail! 

January 7

Dan River Basin Association to Kick-Off Year of the Trail with a Hike in Eden January 7, 2023

You’re invited to join the Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) for a First Saturday Outing (FSO) hike on Saturday, January 7, 2023, at the Matrimony Creek Greenway Trail in Eden, NC. DRBA’s FSOs are always free and open to the public. The two-mile hike/walk begins at 10:00 a.m. at 1335 Washington St, Eden, NC 27288.

The year 2023 has been proclaimed “The Year of the Trail” by legislators in North Carolina and DRBA is starting the year with its first FSO of the year at Matrimony Creek Greenway. Events to celebrate The Year of the Trail will be scheduled throughout the state during 2023. DRBA will be hosting and promoting regional events in the Dan River Basin. To find out more about Year of the Trail in North Carolina: https://greattrailsnc.com/. For Rockingham County’s proclamation of Year of Trail visit: https://www.rockinghamcountync.gov/newsview.aspx?nid=6349

Matrimony Creek rises in southern Henry County, Virginia and flows through Rockingham County, joining the Dan River at the western city limits of Eden. The stream is approximately twelve miles long. In 1728, when William Byrd was surveying the boundary line between the colonies of North Carolina and Virginia, he wrote in his diary that Matrimony was “call’d so by an unfortunate married man because it was exceeding noisy and impetuous.”

Waterfalls along the creek provided excellent energy to operate mills. Soon after the region began to be populated by white settlers, water-powered grist mills were erected to grind corn to make bread – then considered the staff of life. Records show that a mill had been erected near the five-foot waterfall, the largest on the creek, at the site Matrimony Mill site by July 1764.

Participants in the hike are asked to meet at 10:00 a.m. at the parking lot of the Matrimony Creek Greenway Trail, 1335 Washington St, Eden, NC 27288 (GPS 36.4839, -79.7857).

Dress in layers, wear hiking shoes or boots and bring hiking stick(s), lunch, and water.

DRBA’s First Saturday Outings are free and open to the public.

Outing coordinator is Linda Park, an avid fan of the preserve. Please contact Linda Park, 276-806-4442, or lspark@yahoo.com with any questions.

If weather conditions arise, visit www.danriver.org by Friday, January 6, 2023 to determine whether the outing will be held.Join us on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/dan-river.../events/290314259...

Original source can be found here