A refuge for humans and nature
Why the Great Dismal Swamp should be designated a National Heritage Area
esignating the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina a National Heritage
is a great and timely idea. U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin, a Democrat representing Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, has introduced a bill to start the official process. He’s joined by Reps. Elaine Luria and Bobby Scott of Virginia and Reps. Greg Murphy and G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina. The designation is supported by the Nansemond Indian Nation, the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, the Association for the Study of African American Life & History and an impressive list of groups and government organizations.
With all those champions, the bill should have smooth sailing.
It’s a win-win proposition. Designating a site as a National Heritage Area doesn’t mean that the federal government takes over. Decisions about what happens remain with local communities.
Unlike national parks, National Heritage Areas remain places where people live and work. Usually, communities and the Heritage Area work together to promote the unique cultural history. The result is often new jobs and boosts for the local economy.
The designation could also bring in federal funding for historic preservation.
The National Park Service has declared the swamp a National Natural Landmark. The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1974, covers more than 112,000 acres in Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina — the heart of what’s left of the more than 1 million acres the swamp covered when Europeans arrived.
Miles of trails let people explore the unique ecosystem, home to black bears and other mammals as well as a variety of creatures that swim, slither and fly.
Those who are working to get the National Heritage Area designation realize that the Dismal Swamp has long been a refuge for humans as well as nature, and that along with endangered species, it has human history that is in danger of vanishing.
What a wealth of stories there are. From early times, Native American tribes considered the swamp a special place for hunting and gathering. When European settlers encroached, tribes sought sanctuary there.
The swamp has a special place in the African American saga. The 22-mile-long Dismal Swamp Canal runs from Deep Creek in Chesapeake to South Mills in North Carolina, connecting the Chesapeake Bay to the Albemarle Sound by way of the Elizabeth River to the north and the Pasquotank River to the south. Today, it’s an alternate route of the Intracoastal Waterway, and the oldest continuously operated manmade canal in the nation. It has a wealth of history including exploration by George Washington.
That history includes slaves who, starting in 1793, dug the original canal by hand, toiling in waist-deep water, fighting insects and poisonous snakes while their masters were paid for their work. A prominent figure in the anti-slavery movement, Moses Grandy, was born a slave in Camden County, North Carolina, and as a youth hauled lumber in the swamp.
The swamp became an important refuge for those fleeing slavery. It’s a recognized Underground Railroad site — the only one to span two states. Many runaway slaves settled there in “maroon” colonies on small islands, and important free Black communities grew up near the swamp.
Telling such stories would support Virginia’s efforts to teach our collective history in a more accurate and inclusive way, efforts that have more urgency amid heightened focus on racial disparities.
The swamp and canal are already assets for the greater area. Just over the line in North Carolina, Dismal Swamp State Park offers interpretive programs and a small museum. Many people hike and paddle there and in the Wildlife Refuge. About 18 miles of former Highway 17 in Virginia and North Carolina has been turned into the popular Dismal Swamp Canal Trail for walking and bicycling.
Long ago, early settlers thought of the swamp as truly dismal, an inhospitable morass that should be drained and tamed. Today, we better recognize how important this ecosystem is, and we are becoming increasingly aware of its historic significance. It’s time to focus a bigger spotlight on this treasure of human history.