What Was The Great Black Swamp? 18th Century Barrier to Settlement

The Great Black Swamp was once a massive network of wild swamps, forests, and wetlands on the Northwestern Ohio frontier. The swamp delayed white settlement for decades, bringing death and ruin to thousands of Native Americans and white settlers alike. Hit play for more information, or click one of these timestamps for specifics:
00:00 - Robert Lucas journal entry
01:02 - Size & map
01:18 - Overview
01:57 - Prehistoric Great Black Swamp
02:58 - Plants & Animals
03:57 - Native Americans
05:19 - White settlement
05:38 - Barriers to settlement
06:45 - Conquering the Great Black Swamp
07:29 - The modern curse?
08:13 - Black Swamp: A fitting name
08:41 - Conclusion
This video is a part of my 18th-Century Question & Answer series, available as an ever-developing playlist on my channel landing page and in the 'playlists' tab. Feel free to ask other questions in the comments section- your question might be the subject of my next video!
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[@FrontierTradingCompany]

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[@michaelbrunner6654]

Very good information. I never knew of the black swamp. Something you don't really hear about.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Unfortunately you are right. As the entire ecosystem was cleared the memory of the black swamp faded too, and today there isn’t much left to keep the memory alive. Thanks for watching!

[@TotemoGaijin]

@@FrontierTradingCompany So forgotten that most people think these ditches all over the place are creeks.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

@@TotemoGaijin So unfortunate, because the history is so rich!

[@indigo1615]

this is fantastic

[@charlesassman8751]

very interesting. great video

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thank you, more Q&A videos to come. Thanks for watching!

[@recemottashed4941]

I wish time travel was real, I’d go back in time to the prime of the black swamp. I just think being in North America between 1600-1800 would just be a beautiful sight!

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Absolutely! Such an exciting time to be alive, and I doubt anyone fully realized the romance of the time period, with so much wild frontier, opportunity, and unknown.

[@joerosselli4473]

Yes I'm sure it was ... but also there was diseases. A person could die of almost any type of infection, pneumonia was a death sentence, chicken pox , measles killed thousands. A simple sinus infection could become deadly. In the early 1930's my granddad almost died from pneumonia. Suffer Drugs were a new thing the doctor decided to give em a try and saved his life.. My ancestors left the Carolinas in the 1850s and traveled Westward and settled in new land. Several years ago I went to Savannah old town and many graves had the same year dates mid 1800's, Asked what went on and said there's a disease that came through Savannah and a lot of people died.

[@BK-jw5wg]

Both relaxing and informative. Great shots.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks! Glad you found it relaxing, I spent most of the morning capturing those b-roll shots! Appreciate you watching and your comment.

[@cdbzbee454]

Good stuff

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Appreciate it!

[@jakepriest4282]

I live in paulding co. Ohio the only county fully in the GBS. An i can tell you after a few good rains its still here!

[@johnbennett7244]

Good video. I grew up in Paulding Couny, which was in the heart of the Great Black Swamp. The clay soil is called Paulding County Jackwax. Sometimes, when farmers, such as my father tried to work it they called it other names. An ancestor of one of my friends was heard to say: "Why, this land is so poor a man can't even raise hell on it." If you have not seen it, check out "The Story of the Great Black Swamp" by Glen Colerider. It was made several years ago, but I think you can find it online.

[@karlharrelson1091]

What a great video! Outstanding job, brother! Very professional. Are you using cue cards? Teleprompter? That is a lot of information to relay. Can’t get over it. I will be sharing it to others. Can’t wait to see what you do next.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thank you, I appreciate you sharing the video. Really helps me out! In this video I rigged a teleprompter with my own original script. I was pleased with how it came out and I’m glad you found it professional!

[@oldugly9295]

awsum! thank you for sharing with us tom

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks for watching, Tom! Appreciate it.

[@concretecowboy4212]

Thnxs 4 posting ❗👍✌💯🇺🇸

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thank you for watching!

[@Deli1321]

Loved it man. Another camping video would be awesome

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Noted! Thanks for watching! Really appreciate it.

[@xander4043]

Very informative and nice video

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks for watching!

[@cmtcmt661]

I met you briefly at Wildwood. Keep up the good work.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Great, thanks for checking out the channel!

[@kwaichang368]

Great history lesson thanks ,Clinton

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Glad you think so, thanks for watching!

[@concretecowboy4212]

Interesting ❕

[@garyhotchkiss4207]

Excellent presentation.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks for watching!

[@lyonforge3077]

Attended a rendezvous there in the early 80's came away with a case of intestinal distress to be polite lol Awesome time rendezvous

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

😖 yikes

[@patstokes7040]

What beautiful landscape. Capturing the early morning light and fog into sunshine was real art. You really are top notch video. Had no idea that there was this giant swamp that shaped the frontier history. American history is rich with the wilderness experience unlike any other history on earth.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it!

[@Captmiller100]

I group in Monroe County MI, just north of the stateline, and learned more watching this than I did in all the years growing up in the area. Well done! I teach US history in SC now and will definitely be sharing this with my students. Learned about you today watching Peter's channel, The Woodland Escape. Keep up the great work!

[@Captmiller100]

I've got good friends in Waterville, on the Maumee, that we visit every summer. Beyond Fallen Tmbers and Ft. Meigs, what do you recommend to see/visit in the area relating to the war/ reenactment etc? Thanks again!

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Fort Meigs has great reenactments that I have been to since I was a toddler. If you want to build on what you know about the fort I recommend reading up on Dudley’s massacre, which I believe occurred on the ground now occupied by the Maumee public library - if my memory serves me there is a historical marker somewhere on the Maumee side of the river marking the approximate spot. Great history connected to that incident. Besides Fort Meigs and Fallen Timbers nothing comes to mind in that immediate vicinity, but the physical Smoke & Fire Co. storefront is in Waterville, and that might be worth a visit - I believe they are still operating on limited hours post-pandemic, so you may want to call ahead to verify they are open.

[@WyomingTraveler]

An interesting video, I never thought of Ohio as having swamplands.

[@alvashoemaker8536]

EXCELLENT!! 👍🏼👍🏼😃👣

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thank you! Appreciate it!

[@arcticcircleoutdoors3611]

Thank you. That was interesting. Your narrative is very good👍

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thank you!

[@headfullofacid8088]

What a beautiful place. It’s a shame it’s only a fraction the size it originally was but The cacophony birds is heavenly. Your video was incredibly informative

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Really appreciate it, thank you!

[@concretecowboy4212]

One 4 the algorithm 👍💯🇺🇸

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Appreciate you

[@indigo1615]

Where is the tree located during 8:34? I help with a group called big trees ohio and would love to document it.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Here are the coordinates: 41.693871, -84.679838 From the nearby intersection of County Rd S and Williams County Rd 8, go east on County Rd S 2,650 feet. You will undoubtedly see the tree before you reach it - it is immediately off the road on the left hand side. The area to the left of the roadway is DNR native species habitat; public land, so far as I know. I have contacted the account manager of your group twice to inquire about whether the group is aware of any hollow trees that I could spend the night in for a video. Please keep me in mind if you happen to come across one. I’m happy to shoutout the group in such a video and have even offered a $100 cash donation to the group for coordinates of a tree on public land (or an owner’s contact information if it is private). I’ve wanted to spend a night in a tree for as long as I can remember. Should you ever find anything you can reach me easiest here in the comments section or on Facebook and Instagram @frontiertradingcompany. Thanks!

[@chadwright7614]

Nw Ohio here did you find the spot your at on 23 south?

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Actually, it's 5-6 miles off Route 20 near the OH/MI/IN tristate border. The land in the background is ODNR swamp/wet prairie conservation land 👍Closest I've ever seen to the period descriptions after years in NW Ohio!

[@chadwright7614]

@@FrontierTradingCompany we have swamp and marsh near me I'm in Fostoria Ohio take 23 south for 10 miles roughly you'll find a beautiful marshy area

[@moorshound3243]

Sounds like my back yard only bigger.

[@connor2610]

TOLEDOOOOO

[@ParkourEddie1]

Where are your leggings from?

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

I made them myself! It's really very easy. A leggings video is on my list, keep an eye out!

[@ParkourEddie1]

@@FrontierTradingCompany thanks 👍🏻