Bateau marker unveiled/Dr. Arvat McLain and Dr. Harry Watkins unveil the state historical marker honoring the James River bateaumen last Saturday at 301 Virginia St. near the Kanawha Canal Turning Basin in Shockoe Slip. Long, flat-bottomed boats known as bateaux transported tobacco, coal and other goods between Richmond and points west from the 1770s through the mid-1800s. The bateaux often were piloted through the canal and along the James River by crews of free or enslaved African-Americans. Dr. McLain and Dr. Watkins, owners of a coffee and wine bar named “Bateau” on the canal walk, sponsored the sign. (Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press)
