The Great Dismal Swamp is a wetland area on the Coastal plain of southeastern Virginia which extends into northeastern North Carolina. My family is lucky enough to live next to this unique wilderness area, which is one of the last large and wild areas remaining in the Eastern United States.
In addition to its water resources, varied wildlife and vegetative species, the Great Dismal Swamp has also carved a niche for itself in American history, folklore, and literature. A scene in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Dred, took place in the Swamp and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow also wrote about the swamp in his poem, The Slave in the Dismal Swamp. According to local legend, many escaped slaves did make their way to the swamp and lived in freedom there.
In 1665, William Drummond, the future governor of North Carolina was the first European to explore the area. Lake Drummond, one of only two natural lakes in Virginia, is named after him and is located within the area of the Swamp.
George Washington himself surveyed the land and according to legend, once owned 4,000 acres of swampland. He also formed the Dismal Swamp Land Company in 1763 to drain the swamp and harvest timber from part of the area.
In 1805, a Canal was completed to serve as a commercial water highway for timber coming out of the swamp. In 1828, a canal was completed that connected the Chesapeake Bay with Albemarle Sound. The canal is today part of the Intracoastal Waterway.
While all efforts to drain the swamp have failed, logging operations at the Swamp have proved to be a financially successful effort. In fact, the entire swamp has been logged once. Periodic wildfires are also common on the land, and many areas have been burned by wildfires. This year, in July, a spark from logging equipment began another wildfire which burned close to 1,000 acres.
This fire was started when a contractor's equipment caught fire two weeks before the finish of a three year project to clear 1,100 acres of trees badly damaged by Hurricane Isabel. Officials had hoped that the logging operation would remove debris that could cause wildfires and would restore the natural stands of Atlantic white cedar trees which had been removed by earlier logging operations.
In 1974, The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was officially established by Congress through The Dismal Swamp Act of 1974. The primary purpose of the refuge's resource management programs is to restore and maintain the natural biological diversity that existed before the logging operations severely disrupted the environment. Some of the programs which now exist to help restore this diversity include water management, plant diversity, and wildlife management programs.
The swamp is now home to a variety of creatures including different kinds of mammals, snakes, turtles, lizards, and salamanders. Over 200 species of birds have been sited in the Refuge as well. Visitors to the swamp can participate in many activities including hiking, biking, nature study and boating.
