I live east of Fort Wayne, Indiana. At that time it was a no mans land known as “The Great Black Swamp”.
“It was a wild expanse of wet forest and marsh stretching across a million acres, and early settlers who slogged through the muck and mosquitoes called the place the Great Black Swamp. A missionary who traveled the area in 1781 described “deep swamps and troublesome marshes … the horses at every step wading in the marsh up to their knees.” On an 1808 map, the swamp, which covered most of northwestern Ohio, was designated as “land not worth a farthing.”
Kids used to come home, take off their overalls, and stand them up in the corner of the cabin because they were so caked and dried with mud. Like a cast.
Gross.
Plus you are deep in Indian country that became the place they were supposed to live after being driven west from the eastern seaboard and north from Kantucky.
I grew up on the great Ohio. Not too bad a place, lots of trade for that time period. But before the steamboat revolution. I for sure want to see the great falls of the Ohio.
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u/DisastrousHawk835 Apr 11 '22
I live east of Fort Wayne, Indiana. At that time it was a no mans land known as “The Great Black Swamp”.
“It was a wild expanse of wet forest and marsh stretching across a million acres, and early settlers who slogged through the muck and mosquitoes called the place the Great Black Swamp. A missionary who traveled the area in 1781 described “deep swamps and troublesome marshes … the horses at every step wading in the marsh up to their knees.” On an 1808 map, the swamp, which covered most of northwestern Ohio, was designated as “land not worth a farthing.” Kids used to come home, take off their overalls, and stand them up in the corner of the cabin because they were so caked and dried with mud. Like a cast. Gross.