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History Of The Great Dismal Swamp | Short Histories

This video is part of a series that I make called "Short Histories." In this series, I spend 1-5 minutes discussing a historical topic.

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The Great Dismal Swamp is an area that used to cover over a million acres in Virginia and North Carolina, but now only spans 112,000 acres. This region has hosted many important communities over the years for both Native and African Americans.
For thousands of years before the first European settlers entered the area, Native Americans used the Great Dismal Swamp for hunting. The area also served as a trade center for Natives, including the Powhatan Confederacy, Iroquois, and other groups.
When slavery was introduced to the region, the practice soon began to thrive in the Great Dismal Swamp due to its rich natural resources. In 1793, the Dismal Swamp Canal began to be constructed by hand by slaves to enable trade between Chesapeake Bay and the Albemarle Sound. The construction of this canal was overseen by the Great Dismal Swamp Canal Company, one of the investors of which was none other than George Washington.
However, the area also served to help Africans and African Americans over the years. There were several communities near the Great Dismal Swamp that became home to Free People of Color, Native Americans, and European settlers. During the early colonial period (before 1661), some of the people of African descent brought to the colony of Virginia were indentured servants, rather than slaves. At the end of their contracts, many would join these communities near the Great Dismal Swamp and their descendants would often intermarry with Native Americans and European settlers. As time went on and slavery grew, these descendants began to be targeted by slave hunters who would kidnap them and sell them into slavery. To protect themselves, these people moved to communities better hidden by the swamp.
Eventually, the Great Dismal Swamp became refuge to many who escaped slavery. It even became part of the Underground Railroad, a network of routes and houses that helped enslaved people escape to Canada. In fact, the Great Dismal Swamp is one of the only known water-based stops on the Underground Railroad.

Sources:
“Dismal Swamp Canal.” Virginia Places, http://www.virginiaplaces.org/transpo.... Accessed 14 May 2022.
“History of the Dismal Swamp.” Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center, https://dismalswampwelcomecenter.com/.... Accessed 14 May 2022.
Lawrence, Alexa. “Great Dismal Swamp an Irreplaceable Hub of Black and Indigenous History | The Wilderness Society.” The Wilderness Society, 2021, https://www.wilderness.org/news/blog/....
Simpson, Bland. “Great Dismal Swamp.” NCpedia, 2006, https://www.ncpedia.org/great-dismal-....

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