 Starting in 1813, the city paved its streets.In 1816 the Upper Appomattox Canal Company completed the Upper Appomattox Canal Navigation System to bypass the Appomattox Falls, in order to promote traffic up and down river to Farmville and power cotton and flour mills.As early as 1836, Petersburg had the City Point Railroad, which was linked to docks 8 miles away for transferring goods to large Chesapeake Bay and Norfolk-bound ships at City Point.