Editing Gates County, North Carolina (section)

===Port of Hamburg===
County residents worked to develop better connections to major ports. From 1805 to 1822, they excavated the White Oak Marsh Canal or Hamburg Ditch (now known as Cross Canal), about {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} south of the Virginia line. It was Gates County's water route to the major port of [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], running straight east for {{convert|10|mi|km|spell=in}} through the [[Great Dismal Swamp|Dismal Swamp]], from a landing on Daniels Road in Gates County to the [[Dismal Swamp Canal]]<ref name="trout">{{citation|last=Trout|first=W.E.|title=The Great Dismal Atlas|pages=39–41}}</ref> that led to Norfolk.

The Cross Canal is no longer a through route, as it was blocked by hurricanes that toppled trees and blocked access. Until the late 20th century, sportsmen in small boats used the Gates County end, at the site of the town of Hamburg, to enter the swamp.<ref name="trout"/>