Down on the Chickahominy

For centuries, the Chick has blessed the Tidewater region of Virginia with life, even today in the face of deteriorating resources and dramatic environmental change. While an abundant ecosystem thrived in the water, a unique and culturally rich community that once dotted the Chick's riverbanks has dwindled near extinction. Author Jack Trammell spent the past three years on the river researching its incredible past and uncertain future. Drawing on old letters, photographs, and the still extant memories of lifelong watermen like Captains Bill Buck Jr. and Art Conway, he weaves a fascinating narrative of this river community. Hop onboard and join the search for the record perch, the vanished villages, the proud Chickahominy Tribe, and the vestiges of the Civil War in this definitive and easy-to navigate history of a sacred Virginia tributary.

Dr. John (Jack) Trammell is a professor in the department of sociology at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. He is a native of the Richmond area, and a two-time graduate of VCU, earning an MA in history and a PhD in Education. He is an accomplished author and in 2008 he was elected President of the Virginia Writer's Club. In 1997, as a teacher at Liberty Middle School, he was named Hanover County's Teacher of the Year. He has also contributed columns and articles for The Washington Post's "outdoor" section. He has spent the past several years studying the Chickahominy and its history and geography.