A Story from Fear to Production
The Great Black Swamp has a terrifying name, and swamps have been known to evoke fear into travelers. Even though the Great Black Swamp appeared terrifying, and brought dread to settlers, Native Americans were able to utilize the fertility of the land to create “Immense fields of maize.. such as nothing I’ve seen so far” (revised quote from Major General Wayne, 1794 ). European Americans also found uses, along with nuances and fear. Let’s explore some sources and stories from the Nineteenth Century that tell us about the fascinating transformation of the land, and the minds.
First, we will begin with a ghost story, titled Swamp Horror, published on June 26, 1890 in Bowling Green’s Daily Sentinel, Page4, 1890-06-26. (original site) We can get a good impression of the fear from the story in the author’s quote:
“Thousands of years of life could not bring me to a moment of greater horror… If I was on the road and could have ran it would not have been so bad, but I was hemmed in by an almost impassable swamp.”
That is a ghost story, and we can’t be certain it was true, but it had a strong resonance with the experience of the swamp in Bowling Green. The first European travelers similarly pointed out feelings of dread. In 1818, Evans, a stray soldier who roamed these lands, referred to it as “The Famous Black Swamp.” His experiences traveling throughout the swamp can be found here: Evan’s Pedestrious Tour internet link … Evan’s Pedestrious Tour PDF
“The winter, until within a few days, having been very severe, the wolves, probably, were very hungry and ferocious. It is said, that in this part of the country they are very numerous and bold.”
Similarly, General Robert Lucas complained about the difficulties of the swamp during a military campaign in the War of 1812. Robert Lucas Journal internet link, Swamp part 1, Swamp part2, Swamp part 3.
“Surrounded in the night by hostile indians… we left our fire and laid in the bushes where we were tormented by gnats and mosquitoes.”
Major General Wayne, also referred to the difficulties of traveling and surviving in the swamp. Despite the difficulties of the land, he also witnessed tremendous agricultural success by the Native Americans. After seeing this success he was able to realize that the borders and boundaries of the swamp were very fertile and beautiful. Below is a quote from a Copy of letter from Major General Wayne to the Secretary of War, dated Head Quarters, Grand Glaize, August 14, 1794 Click Here to View Letter
“The margins of those beautiful rivers, The Miami and the Auglaize, appear like one continuous village for a number of miles both above and below this place. Nor have I ever beheld such immense fields of corn in the United States from Canada to Florida.”
Finally, after the first travelers arrived and were able to overcome their fears, The Great Black Swamp was settled. Below is a newspaper that was published in Bowling Green, called the Daily Sentinel. Inside the periodical is an article about a farmer who was able to turn swamp land into farmland and greatly increased his profits. Beside this article, is another about how human beings and nature coincide. It asks the question: “are we children of nature?” These articles describe the completion of the change that was originally imagined when settlers first set their eyes upon the daunting swamp. Internet Link to Archive, Daily Sentinel, Page7, 1904-08-31
“It was sold to Mr. Rankin as swamp land ranging from 50 cents to a dollar an acre … With the water removed and the floods reduced the tract will rise into high class farm land from 35 to 75 dollars an acre.”
Learning More
William Cronon’s works in environmental history, such as Changes in the Land (on New England, and available for check out at the Wood County Public Library) and Nature’s Metropolis (on Chicago) focus on the transformation of the landscape from an indigenous to a European one. Cronon shows that deforestation is one of the most widespread ecological transformations created by European settlement.; Tthis deforestation affects everything from water to climate to endemic species composition. The goal was to create farmland, which European settlers perceived as an improved type of land. Reducing forest coverage, in their view, not only opened land but also mitigated cold and heat extremes, as William Meyer discusses in Americans and their Weather.
Sources
Copy of letter from Major General Wayne to the Secretary of War, dated Head Quarters, Grand Glaize, August 14, 1794.
The Robert Lucas journal. Lucas, Robert, 1781-1853. 1812 Dates May-June.
Kaatz, Martin R. “The Black Swamp: A Study in Historical Geography.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers45, no. 1 (1955): 1-35. www.jstor.org/stable/2561550.
Text, research and content created by Keith Lenhart, M.A. student in History. Edited by Dr. Amílcar Challú, Associate Professor of History, Bowling Green State University, and Carolyn Dailey, history senior.