What did the eastern Midwest look like BEFORE it was settled by Europeans? (agriculture, station)

[iPwn]

I've heard that 80-90% of Ohio and Indiana were once covered in forest, and there was a lot of swampland.

[Toxic Toast]

That is where the Toledo Mud Hens got their name, from the birds in the swamps in the early days of Toledo.

[le roi]

i'm pretty sure it was corn that settled the midwest, not europeans.

[CortlandGirl79]

Cleveland's nickname is the "Forest City".

[imperialmog]

It was likely less naturally developed than most people think, especially after the introduction of agriculture around 2000-1500 years ago. Societies started to become more sedentary and more permenant settlements and increased populations were built. There was localized areas of heavy deforestation due to the large demand for wood due to how structures were built.

[Ghengis]

Do you mean the North Eastern Midwest, the Central Eastern Midwest or the South Eastern Midwest?

[TheWereRabbit]

Something like this...


Picture from Geoff Mangum's Guide to Native American History & Culture.

Okay, so this picture is an artist's interpretation. But Native Americans had developed much of the mid-west (especially along the Mississippi and Ohio) for maize agriculture. For the record, that picture is a depiction of Cahokia, which was the largest city in the world for a while.

[west336]

With all of the rain they get I'd say lush forests, which is what they had, I believe.

[JR_C]

Originally Posted by TheWereRabbit

Something like this...


Picture from Geoff Mangum's Guide to Native American History & Culture.

Okay, so this picture is an artist's interpretation. But Native Americans had developed much of the mid-west (especially along the Mississippi and Ohio) for maize agriculture. For the record, that picture is a depiction of Cahokia, which was the largest city in the world for a while.

That's a very interesting image. I wouldn't be surprised if parts of the central and western Midwest looked like that. But I think the eastern Midwest was largely covered with forest, as others have said.

[grapico]

are you referring to the northwest territory?

Northwest Territory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia