 Maiden's Adventure was located along the James River and Kanawha Canal which opened in 1840.The new canal was part of a planned link between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean via the James River and the Kanawha River, which would lead to the Ohio River, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico.The canal was used by packet and freight boats which replaced the earlier shallow-draft batteau boats used before the canal for commerce.