The Great Black Swamp, or simply Black Swamp, was a glacially-caused wetland in northwest Ohio, United States, extending into extreme northeastern Indiana, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until the late 19th century. "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog Northwest or northwestern Ohio consists of multiple counties in the northwestern corner of the US state of Ohio. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union "Last glacial" redirects here For the period of maximum glacier extent during this time see Last Glacial Maximum The last glacial period It comprised extensive swamps and marshes, with some higher, drier ground interspersed, and occupied what was formerly the southwestern part of Glacial Lake Maumee, a holocene precursor to Lake Erie. A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water In Geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of Wetland which is subject See also Lake Agassiz The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC Lake Erie (ˈɪəriː is the fourth largest Lake (by surface area of the five Great Lakes, and the tenth largest globally It was gradually drained and settled in the second half of the 19th century and is now highly productive farm land. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar A farm is an area of land including various structures devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food ( Produce, Grains, or Livestock
Its historical boundaries lie primarily within the watersheds of the Maumee, Auglaize, and Portage rivers in northwest Ohio. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, The Maumee River is a River in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. The Auglaize River is a tributary of the Maumee River, approximately 100 mi (160 km long in northwestern Ohio in the United States. "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there The boundary was determined primarily by ancient sandy beach ridges formed on the shores of Lakes Maumee and Whittlesey, after glacial retreat several thousand years ago. It stretched roughly from New Haven, Indiana in the west, to Toledo and Sandusky Ohio on the east. New Haven is a city in Jefferson and Adams townships Allen County, Indiana, United States This article is about the city in Ohio, USA. For Toledo Spain, see that article Sandusky is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Erie County. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Additional watersheds partly or wholly within its former boundary include the Sandusky, Ottawa, Tiffin, and Blanchard rivers. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, The Sandusky River is a Tributary to Lake Erie in north-central Ohio in the United States. This is about the river in Canada For other uses see Ottawa River (disambiguation. The Tiffin River is a tributary of the Maumee River, approximately 75 mi (121 km long in southeastern Michigan and northwestern Ohio in the United The Blanchard River is a tributary of the Auglaize River, approximately 95 mi (153 km long in northwestern Ohio in the United States. "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there
The area was not continuous swamp, but rather characterized by a variety of vegetation types (Sampson, 1930; Kaatz, 1955). Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region it refers to the Ground cover provided by plants In the lowest, flattest areas, prone to permanent inundation, deciduous swamp forests predominated, characterized especially by species of ash, elm, cottonwood and sycamore. Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including An ash can be any of four different tree genera from four very distinct families; most commonly in a combined form (e Elms are Deciduous and Semi-deciduous Trees comprising the genus Ulmus, family Ulmaceae, found The cottonwoods are three species of Poplars in the section Aegiros of the genus Populus, native to North America, Europe and western In slightly higher areas with some topographic relief and better drainage, beech, maples, basswood, tuliptree and other more mesic species were dominant. For the babyfood see Beech-Nut. Beech ( Fagus) is a genus of ten Species of Deciduous Trees in the Acer ( maple) is a Genus of Trees or Shrubs They are variously classified in a family of their own the Aceraceae, or Tilia is a Genus of about 30 species of Trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia (where the greatest "Tulip tree" redirects here For the African tulip tree see Spathodea campanulata. On elevated beach ridges and moraines with good to excessive drainage, more xeric species, especially of oak and hickory, were dominant. Moraine refers to any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris (soil and rock which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions such as those The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin Trees in the genus Carya (from Ancient Greek κάρυον " Nut " are commonly known as Hickory. Unlike other swampy areas of the Great Lakes, such as northern Minnesota, there were no conifers (Sampson, 1930). There were also non-forested wetlands, particularly marsh and wet prairies, with marshes being particularly extensive along the Lake Erie shoreline between Toledo and Sandusky. Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow" "grassland" "pasture" refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically Some of these exist today in modified form in state and federal wildlife refuges, such as Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.
Although much of the area to the east, south, and north was settled in the early 19th century, the difficulty of traveling through the swamp delayed its development by several decades. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar A corduroy road (from modern day Fremont to Perrysburg) was constructed in 1825 and paved with gravel in 1838, but travel in the wet season could still take days or even weeks. A Corduroy road or log road is a type of Road made by placing Sand -covered Logs Perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low Year 1825 ( MDCCCXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The impassability of the swamp became an obstacle during the so-called Toledo War (1835–36), when the Michigan and Ohio militias were unable to find each other, and thus were unable to battle. The Toledo War (1835–1836 also known as the Ohio-Michigan War, was the mostly bloodless boundary dispute between the U Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Settlement of the region was inhibited by the presence of endemic malaria, which continued to plague residents of the region until the area was drained. Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including In the 1850s an organized attempt to drain the swamp for agricultural use and ease of travel began which lasted for 40 years, and the area was largely settled over the next three decades. Events and Trends Industry Production of Steel revolutionized by invention of the Bessemer process Benjamin Silliman The development of railroads and a local drainage tile industry are thought to have contributed greatly to drainage and settlement (Kaatz, 1955).
See also
References
Sampson, H. The Limberlost Swamp, parts of which were also known as the Loblolly Marsh, originally existed in Indiana, across 13000 acres (53 km² of Adams County C. 1930. Succession in the swamp forest formation in northern Ohio. Ohio J Science 30:340–357.
Kaatz, M. R. 1955. The Black Swamp: A Study in Historical Geography. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 45(1):1–35.
External links
- "The Story of the Great Black Swamp", WBGU-PBS documentary
- Perrysburg history
- IPFW Black Swamp site
- Swamp Survivors
- The Black Swamp Conservancy is an organization dedicated to preservation of the swamp.
- Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor
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