The earliest record of the Dragon Run is by Captain John Smith in 1607. While on his way to meet with the Powhatan and Pocahontas, he crossed the stream and marked it on a map. Later, many settlers came from England to settle in Virginia. Some settled in the Dragon Run watershed, and descendants of those original settlers still own land there today.

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The first time the area was noted as “Dragon Swamp” was in 1673 by cartographer Augustine Herman. It is believed that the Pamunkeys used the swamp as a hiding spot during Bacon's Rebellion. John Clayton (botanist) studied the area in 1773 and found over 800 species of native plant species and discovered 2 new species: Claytonia virginica and Osmunda claytoniana. The John Clayton Herbarium can still be found in London’s Natural History Museum, including plants from the Dragon Run.

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During the American Civil War, County Clerk P.T. Woodward reportedly prevented important Confederate documents from falling into Union hands by hiding them on an island in the Dragon Run.

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More recently, brothers James V. Morgan and Harvey B. Morgan have taken a stand in preserving the watershed by organizing the Friends of the Dragon Run. Morgan took the lead in preservation by buying some of the land and building canoe trails for people to explore.

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Source: Wikipedia