The James River Water Authority is pushing back against a surprise decision by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to disqualify work done by the archaeologist who surveyed the proposed site on the James River at Point of Fork near Columbia.
A planned water intake and pump station slated to be built along the James River on the site of the ancient village of Rassawek, the historic capital of the Monacan Tribe, could be delayed after officials determined an archaeologist consulting on the project was unqualified.
In Central Virginia, at a point where two rivers merge, there’s a little-known site with great historical value. For centuries, it was home to the chief village of the Monacan Indian Nation.
In John Smith’s 1612 map of Virginia, at the point where the Rivanna River meets the James, he marked Rassawek, the capital of the Monacan Indians. Jump forward 400 years and the site is on another map, this one targeting it as a pump station to quench Zion Crossroads’ thirst.
The site of Rassawek, important to the Monacan Nation, is proposed to be destroyed by a pump station built by the James River Water Authority for Fluvanna and Louisa counties.
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