promoted by such men as george washington, edmund randolph, and john marshall, the james river company opened in 1790 as the first commercial canal in the united states. stretching from richmond, virginia to westham, virginia and paralleling the james for , it supplemented existing bateaux transportation on the james river. these flat-bottomed boats floated down the james to richmond laden with tobacco hogsheads and returned with french and english imports, furniture, dishes, and clothing.