DRBA's August 7 First Saturday Outing will be a 4-mile float on the Dan in Stokes County from Hemlock Golf Course Access to the US 311 Bridge. Coordinating this outing is Will Truslow, former DRBA president, avid paddler, and frequent outings coordinator.

According to Truslow, "This section is one that is not often paddled and is quite historic. It passes through an old mill site area and Hairston's Falls, the furthest point the batteaux reached. The rapid there is rated as Class II, but the rest of the trip is mostly flat water."

Comments North Carolina historian Lindley Butler, "Early names attached to most of the major points of interest in this section of the Dan come from two sources-the Hairston family, who were wealthy plantation owners, and the last known Native American tribe in the region, the Saura Indians."

The Native American village known as Upper Sauratown was located in a bend of the Dan downstream of the outing's take-out at the US 311 Bridge.

Batteaux, which were long, narrow, flat-bottomed wooden boats, were used throughout the nineteenth century to carry cargo and passengers on the shallow, rocky upper Dan River. In the absence of good roads, especially in wet weather, the river carried most of the commerce of the backcountry farms and towns, connecting the region to a global market.

Sluices built through the rapids enabled batteau traffic to navigate the river, even during times of low water. The rocky ledges at Hairston's Falls, divided by a quarter-mile-long island, marked the head of navigation for the batteau system.

Still visible as a depression in the woods near Hairston's Falls are the remains of Hairston's Mill Race that once powered a gristmill and sawmill.

A mile below Hairston's Falls is the site of "Upper Sauratown," the 1786 home of Peter Hairston, which later burned and was replaced by "Saura Town Plantation" on the south side of the river, now at the center of the Sauratown Plantation Game Land.

Just upstream from the US 311 Bridge is Hairston's Ford Shoal, one of the crossings of the Great Wagon Road, which brought travelers south from Philadelphia. Like many paths throughout the continent, the wagon road followed an earlier Native American trail.

For more information, see Maps 62-64 of An Insider's Guide to the Dan River, available at www.danriver.org.

Meet at 10:00 a.m. at Hemlock Golf Course Access (GPS coordinates: 36.3692, -80.1267) to unload gear and set the shuttle. Dress in layers of synthetic fabric, and bring boat, paddles, life jackets, lunch and water. All participants will be asked to sign a waiver.

Hemlock Golf Course Access is at the end of Powerhouse Road, Walnut Cove, NC. Take US 311 through Walnut Cove to Hwy. 89 West. Turn right on Power Dam Road (State Road 1712 - by a Marathon gas station). Turn right on Powerhouse Road (State Road 1732).

From the northwest, take Hwy. 8 South to Hwy. 89 East. Turn left on Power Dam Road (State Road 1712), then right on Powerhouse Road (State Road 1732).

For more information, contact Will Truslow, 336-547-1903 or willtruslow@hotmail.com.