why is the great dismal swamp important

2020 Virginia Humanities, All Rights Reserved . The amber-colored water is preserved by tannic acids from the bark of the juniper, gum and cypress trees, prohibiting growth of bacteria. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge contains some of the most important wildlife habitat in the mid-Atlantic region. The name, Dismal, comes from the English understanding of swamps and wetlands as wastelands generally bleak, or dismal, and dangerous to civilized humans. The swamp has also acquired a mythical cultural status due to its use as passage and haven for escaped slaves, and the seemingly magical properties of its water, which stagnates very slowly due to its acidity and was thus prized by ship captains. Today efforts are underway to preserve the swamps natural resources and its historic story as a place of short- and long-term refuge for maroon communities. The forest fills with fresh growth and blooms, the weather is moderate, the insects are minimal, and the spring neo-tropical bird migration is upon us. The Great Dismal Swamp supports nearby communities as well. Within this milieu of communities, naturalists will encounter a wide variety of organisms ranging from carpenter frogs to black bears. Unlike most other swamps, the Dismal Swamp actually lies above sea level and water drains out of it from the shallow Lake Drummond (seen in this anonymous 1807 map) rather than into it. The Great Dismal Swamp, actually thats the name British colonists gave it centuries ago. Many who now live in surrounding cities and communities like Gates County and Skeetertown claim ancestry and traditions passed down from these diverse forebears. Sat: 9 am 5 pm Virginia Studies is an online course for K12 teachers created by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RRCHNM) at George Mason University with funding from the Virginia Department of Education. Thank you. Producer Sharif Youssef spoke with Eric Sheppard, who lives in Carollton, Virginia and runs Diversity Restoration Solutions, a company that leads tours to the Great Dismal Swamp; Professor Dan Sayers, a historical archaeologist at American University and a leading expert on the Great Dismal Swamp (Sayers also authored the book A Desolate Place For A Defiant People:The ArchaeologyOf Maroons, Indigenous Americans, And Enslaved LaborersIn The Great Dismal Swamp); and Dr. Sylviane Diouf, a historian of the African diaspora and and author of Slaverys Exiles, The Story Of The American Maroons. And for all the complaints about the Great Dismal Swamps buggy conditions, it provides habitat for dozens of species of butterfly, including several that are totally dependent on the local plantlife, like the beautiful and vulnerable Hessels hairstreak. In 2003, several sites in the Great Dismal Swamp were added to the National Parks Service Network To Freedom, which recognizes 400 sites that were involved in the Underground Railroad. Copyright 2023 Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center. Unfortunately, the swamp has been plagued by fires during droughts and drier seasons in recent years. In this manner, why is it called the Great Dismal Swamp? 1818 President James Monroe visited the Dismal Swamp Below white with black spots on flanks. 1890 Emma K Dismal Swamps favorite vessel was built Right off the bat, the Great Dismal Swamps name does it a disservice. [vi]Additionally, dispossessed white indentured servants likely lived as Maroons in smaller numbers. the channel was deepened. Day, Thomas. In England in the ninth century, King Alfred based his successful resistance against the Vikings in the marshes of the Somerset Levels, staying on a patch of dry land called the Isle of Athelney, and later Hereward the Wake based his unsuccessful resistance against the Normans in the eleventh century from the Isle of Ely in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Bald eagles return from their summer hangouts and can be seen patrolling the lake's edge or perched on a snag along Lake Drummond Wildlife Drive. Self-liberated Black people who fled nearby plantations settled in the swamp from the 17th to mid-19th century and grew their families. How did the "Dismal" Swamp receive its name? Armed in the Great Swamp: Fear, Maroon Insurrection, and the Insurgent Ecology of the Great Dismal Swamp. The Journal of African American History, vol. While this phrase is often said in jest, it brings to light an important truth about forests trees do fall from time to time. This practice of survival and impulse for revolutionary imagination still exists in Maroon communities, such as those in Suriname and Accompong Town, Moore Town, Charles Town, and Scotts Hall in Jamaica. Free People of Color (a historical term for people of full or partial African or Native descent who were not enslaved prior to 1865) also lived close to the Dismal, and developed communities and economies based on its bounty and safety. Encyclopedia Virginia946 Grady Ave. Ste. The refuge's resource management initiatives strive to recover and sustain the swamp's natural ecological variety, including its water supplies, native plant types, and animal species. Often referred to as the Dismal Swamp, the Great Dismal Swamp is a big swamp that is situated in the Coastal Plain region between the cities of Norfolk and Elizabeth City, in the southeastern part of Virginia and the northeastern part of North Carolina. Hunters have passed down stories of shooting a bear or a deer, only to find that the body has vanished and left no trace, not even a drop of blood, when they go to retrieve it. 1810 Jericho Canal completed Mired Memory: Marronage in the Great Dismal Swamp. Social and Economic Studies, vol. The Dismal also served as a particular kind of refuge for people who had fled enslavement: these Maroon communities (a term derived from the Spanish cimarrn: fugitive, fierce, unruly/unruled) thrived in organized townships on the mesic islands in the very heart of the Swamp for decades. This was the most complex and dangerous route, full of insects, snakes, and wild creatures. Explore the, A Desolate Place for a Defiant People: The Archaeology of Maroons, Indigenous Americans, and Enslaved Laborers in the Great Dismal Swamp. Self-liberated Black people who fled nearby plantations settled in the swamp from the 17th to mid-19th century and grew their families. Moses Grandy was born into slavery in Camden County in 1786 and as a youth became interested in maritime occupations. Search for volunteer opportunities around the country, News about wonderful wild things and places, FWS is taking steps to mitigate climate impacts, Search employment opportunities with USFWS, Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCA & CCAA), Coastal Barrier Resources Act Project Consultation, Coastal Barrier Resources System Property Documentation, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, https://www.facebook.com/greatdismalswamp. Many runaways ended up in this desolate location. The insects begin to wane and the days grow slightly cooler. km. Encyclopedia Virginia, Virginia Humanities. It sits atop some of the richest carbon storage anywhere on the South Atlantic coast, peatland that is able to sequester 33 times more carbon than any other type of soil or forest. Working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Resident black bears take to their dens, emerging only occasionally on warm days. Because of its unique properties, Virginians have interacted with the Dismal Swamp in many different ways. We do not guarantee that the websites we link to comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act. But around 1700, the demographics of the swamp started to shift. More than a century of efforts to exploit the Dismals natural resources through speculative entities like the Dismal Swamp Company and the Dismal Swamp Canal Company altered its hydrology, however, leading to a dramatic reduction in its swampland. When the Continental Shelf's last substantial change occurred, this natural gem emerged as a landform. 2005 The 200th anniversary of the Canal & 65th anniversary of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway 126. Tundra swans and snow geese gather, sometimes in the thousands, to rest on Lake Drummond. The lake's origins are unknown. Today, Lake Drummond is the hub of activity in the swamp, drawing fishermen, tourists, and boaters, but the refuge does not permit camping. Peixotto, Becca. It was to this inhospitable place many runaways came. Pier by OK Ikumi Just who discovered the Great Dismal and when is unknown. This 22 mile long canal allowed trade between the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. If not, what are your initial reactions to what you read? Learn more about the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom through the following brochures and visiting: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, Network To Freedom: The Underground Railroad Bulletin. Janay Draughn is the MDC Dan Broun Summer Intern. For millions of years before the Swamp was formed, it was under the sea. But climate change and sea-level rise, along with extraction and human encroachment, pose significant threats to the Great Dismal Swamp and its wildlife. The Great Dismal Swamp seems to have gotten stuck with a nasty name. The lake has a low nutrient content due to the leaching of acidic elements from nearby peat soils. A researcher uses a large magnet to collect tiny fragments of iron and other magnetic materials that could easily be missed in screens. 1764 Dismal Swamp Land Company chartered Despite its unattractive name, the area is environmentally , biologically , and historically important. Indigenous people, such as the Chesapeake, Nansemond, Meherrin, and Tuscarora tribes, likely fled to the Dismal in large numbers as a . The Great Dismal Swamp wildlife refuge was written into law in the 1970s after large swathes of the swamp were donated to the government by a logging company. Although conditions were harsh, research suggests that thousands lived there between about 1700 and the 1860s. Weve posted it here: https://youtu.be/t0k8ZcLk_ZA, Your email address will not be published. Moses was hired out to Enoch Sawyer and George Furley to tend ferry along the Pasquotank River and haul lumber in the Dismal Swamp. Many freedom seekers decided to seek sanctuary in the Great Dismal Swamp amid a colony of runaways known as maroons. This industry eventually led to the creation of the Great Dismal Swamp Canal to transporting the logs from the deep forests, and the canal remains the oldest man-made waterway in America still in use. Sayers and Diouf believe this wasnt just an oversight. But the last couple times I camped in winter I did so at a hot spring and had become spoiled, uninterested in winter camping without hot water. Fish and Wildlife Service. Shortly after the introduction of slavery in 1619, runaway slaves migrated to the swamp in search of safety. 1974 Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge created Sayers, Daniel O. Take some time to also explore Bass StoryMap titled Indigenous Life on the Nansemond River: Our Story of Cultural Revitalization through River Stewardship.. Together these ditches provided a way to transport logs out of the Swamp and drain it as well. And based on archaeological evidence, it appears that the maroons built elevated cabins that they lifted above the moist ground using wooden posts. Loop Map . Below are some questions to reflect on independently or discuss with others: 1. It was difficult to capture a freedom seeker once they reached the swamp, although occasional trips were made to recapture runaways with specially trained dogs. Even after the frenzy of spring migration subsides, wildlife watching in the Swamp can still be very rewarding. In the 1760s, George Washington and several prominent Virginians and North Carolinians formed two companies: the Dismal Swamp Land Company, and the Adventurers for Draining the Great Dismal Swamp. The swamp has a lot to offer, from nature paths to exhilarating activities in and around Lake Drummond. Unlike other runaways, some of whom headed to northern cities, maroons lived in the wilderness, often in difficult-to-reach places. The Suffolk Loop includes the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, a paradise to birders around the world and home to rare flora and fauna that may be found nowhere else in the state. " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Darreus! The swamp, said Marcus P. Nevius, author of "City of Refuge: Slavery and Petit Marronage in the Great Dismal Swamp, 1763-1856, was "both a place of slave labor's exploitation and a place . This route was the most rugged and treacherous route where insects, snakes, and wild animals were abundant. There's one legend from the swamp which speaks of a mysterious, traveling graveyard which can't be found when you're looking for it, and will only appear to warn someone that they've lost their way. 1856 Harriet Beecher Stowes Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp is published. Proceeds from, Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy; Late a Slave in the United States were used to help liberate Grandys enslaved relatives. Take a moment to look through Nikki Bass website and photo gallery, at https://descendantsofthegreatdismal.com, to see the life and light present in her photos. 1, 2018, pp. Below are two literary representations of marronage, Maroons and fugitive. The main office for the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is in Suffolk Virginia. A beautiful time on the refuge. Colonel William Byrd II, a land surveyor from Virginia, provided one of the first written descriptions of the swamp in the early 1700s. The giant cypress trees stretched more than five feet in diameter and 120 feet high. Original music by Sean Real REGISTER HERE, Remarkable discovery and so wish to attend on the 11th due to a medical appointment conflict. It became an important waterway after the construction of the Great Dismal Swamp Canal completed around 1805. It is highly wooded and has natural elevations ranging from 10 to 20 feet above sea level. And she's gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp, Wild Paradise: Hope in the Great Dismal Swamp. Southeastern Geographer 61 (1): 14. Lumbering continued in the Swamp and by the 1950s the last 20,000 acres of virgin timber were removed. How did the Dismal Swamp receive its name? Marshes are historically places of refuge for resistance movements, as you say they are traversable by neither horse nor boat, nor men unless they know the area well. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge | Species | U.S. We were unable to process your request. 3, 2018, pp. Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Community Praxis in the Great Dismal Swamp. In A Desolate Place for a Defiant People: The Archaeology of Maroons, Indigenous Americans, and Enslaved Laborers in the Great Dismal Swamp. For joining the movement to save our lands. The swamp is one of the largest natural areas in the Eastern United States, with over 100,000 acres protected by state and federal preserves. Boaters traveling the interior passageway with a shallow draft might take the dismal swamp canal route, which runs parallel to US Highway 17, when heading south for the winter. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 99% Invisible Will it be posted to You Tube? William Grandy, a prominent slave owner in Camden County was Mosess first slave master. 1888 Last sale of lumber harvested from the Dismal Swamp But the swamp is also rumored to be haunted. Photographs often reflect a persons positioning and understanding of place and bodies. 1929 United States Government purchased the Lake Drummond Company Conservation groups across the United States began demanding the preservation of the remaining Great Dismal Swamp and the restoration of its wetlands in the mid-20th century, which was recognized as vital habitat for a broad range of birds, animals, plants, and other living things. Today, descendants of Maroons and Indigenous people in the Dismal are doing the work to have their ancestors and the Dismal cared for. Smith, Sarah Stefana. They wanted freedom, yes, but perhaps even more, they wanted autonomy a kind of control over their lives that wouldnt be possible even as free black people in the North even if it meant being surrounded by poisonous snakes and panthers. [i] The Great Dismal Swamp was basically a known secret at the time portrayed by white people as a site to be feared and fought, but for those who lived there, it was a site of resistance, survival, and fugitive community-building. Finally in 1827, Captain Edward Minner, purchased Moses and allowed him to live as a free man. The Great Dismal Swamp's climate is . Opened in 1805, it is the oldest continually operating man-made canal in the United States. Colonies were established on high ground in the swamp, where crude huts were constructed. That would make its current name essentially the equivalent of The Great Swamp Swamp.. Were you aware of the presence of maroon communities in the Great Dismal Swamp? Be on the lookout for young turtles, some as small as a walnut, crossing the roads around dusk and dawn. They found ways to exist and build outside of a state apparatus and exhibited a praxis of freedom that was opaque to white society and their philosophies of freedom, citizenship, and assimilation. The Dismal Swamp Canal, hand dug by hired enslaved labor, opened to navigation in 1805 after twelve years of backbreaking work under highly unfavorable conditions. The Great Dismal is a relatively young feature on the North American continent. While some runaways were able to blend in with free blacks, many chose to seek refuge among a colony of runaways (called maroons) in the Great Dismal Swamp. The Pamlico Formation (also known as the Great Dismal Swamp Terrace) rises to 25 feet or more along the western edge, establishing a natural border. In some cases, maroons clashed with colonial forces, as they did in Jamaicas Maroon Wars. 2005 Dismal Swamp Canal Trail opens to the public Cummings, Ronald. They most likely cultivated rice and grain fields and participated in trade and cooperation withmaroon communities on neighboring islands, but itshard to say for certain. Ever since then, the vision of the two lovers paddling together in a white canoe can sometimes be seen on Lake Drummond.

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