The Great Black Swamp

Overland transportation was extremely difficult. During the War of 1812, American armies traversed this area on their way to battle the British in Canada. They waded and hacked their way through the Great Black Swamp. Reports from the region described it as the most ""forsaken, desolate, and inhospitable wilderness" in America.

Ohio's roads during that time were poor to say the least, and the roads in Northwest Ohio were worse than that! Few pioneers chose to settle here in the 1820's but those heading westward to Indiana and Michigan were faced with crossing the Great Black Swamp mud road.

In 1825 a road made of logs laid corduroy style, was built. It spanned a forty mile stretch between Fremont and Perrysburg and was called The Western Reserve and Maumee Road. Travelers spent weeks rolling from one mud hole to the next. Holes could be as large as entire wagons. The road was paved with gravel in 1838.

Pioneer life here was one of the most difficult in the United States. The first priority for early settlers was to clear enough of the rugged forest to erect a crude shelter and plant a small field of corn. The pioneers faced sickness and death from malaria spread by the abundant mosquitoes. The coming of the canals meant easier travel, easier commerce, and an end to total isolation.

By 1843 the Wabash and Erie canal was complete, linking the Toledo area to the Wabash River in Indiana. In 1845 the Miami and Erie Canal completed the link from Toledo to Cincinnati. Canal boats were powered by mules who plodded along the bank at a pace of four miles an hour. It was determined that faster speeds would erode the banks of the canal. This near snail's pace over the water was complete luxury, as opposed to trudging through the mud holes as big as wagons on the road. *

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*Toledo Metroparks 1996

URL:http://users.ipfw.edu/zeppp/Nature/swamp.html