surveyed and planned by george washington, the canal project was begun in 1785 as the james river company, and later restarted under the james river and kanawha canal company. it was an expensive project which failed several times financially and was frequently damaged by floods. though largely financed by the commonwealth of virginia through the virginia board of public works, it was only half completed by 1851, reaching buchanan, in botetourt county. when work to extend it further west stopped permanently, railroads were overtaking the canal as a far more productive mode of transportation.