Anyone else change their opinion of NW Ohio?

[randomparent]

Originally Posted by ferraris

Why is that? I'm not looking to pick a fight, just curious.

The swamp is pretty much gone, but there are still some nice wilderness areas. Magee Marsh is pretty awesome if you aren't looking for a traditional park like atmosphere.

I left another part of Ohio as a young adult to live in the west. While I will always have warm feelings about my childhood in Ohio, it just doesn't suit me. I am, however, obsessed with Ohio history and am always reading about it. I also travel back every few years to research my family's genealogy, which dates back to the founding of the state. The Great Black Swamp captured my imagination when I was a child, but, of course, it no longer exists as it was drained over a century ago for farmland. Ohio has so many gorgeous natural areas, and some that are easily overlooked are wetlands. The park system reestablished a fen near where I grew up, and I can't wait to explore on my next visit.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by randomparent

I left another part of Ohio as a young adult to live in the west. While I will always have warm feelings about my childhood in Ohio, it just doesn't suit me. I am, however, obsessed with Ohio history and am always reading about it. I also travel back every few years to research my family's genealogy, which dates back to the founding of the state. The Great Black Swamp captured my imagination when I was a child, but, of course, it no longer exists as it was drained over a century ago for farmland. Ohio has so many gorgeous natural areas, and some that are easily overlooked are wetlands. The park system reestablished a fen near where I grew up, and I can't wait to explore on my next visit.

My ancestors were some of the first permanent settlers in Fulton County, Ohio and I am always amazed at the story of the Great Black Swamp. The tenacity that those settlers displayed and the amount of strenuous, back breaking work that the draining of the Swamp required, especially in light of the fact that they lived during a time with no power or heavy equipment, central heat, air conditioning, insect control (the mosquitoes must have been rampant) or refrigeration, is mind boggling and I can't think of anyone today who would probably go through all of that just to gain some farmland when they could have just moved on to another spot on this vast continent. Every time I look at one of the many small stands of trees that were left among the farm fields of NW Ohio I am amazed all over again that thousands and thousands of acres of land were cleared of that kind of dense forest by people with only axes and manually powered saws.

[randomparent]

Originally Posted by canudigit

My ancestors were some of the first permanent settlers in Fulton County, Ohio and I am always amazed at the story of the Great Black Swamp. The tenacity that those settlers displayed and the amount of strenuous, back breaking work that the draining of the Swamp required, especially in light of the fact that they lived during a time with no power or heavy equipment, central heat, air conditioning, insect control (the mosquitoes must have been rampant) or refrigeration, is mind boggling and I can't think of anyone today who would probably go through all of that just to gain some farmland when they could have just moved on to another spot on this vast continent. Every time I look at one of the many small stands of trees that were left among the farm fields of NW Ohio I am amazed all over again that thousands and thousands of acres of land were cleared of that kind of dense forest by people with only axes and manually powered saws.

Ah, I see I'm not the only one who finds the GBS fascinating! Are you familiar with the work of historian Jim Mollenkopf? I discovered his work on Amazon recently and have added a couple of his books to my wish list.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by randomparent

Ah, I see I'm not the only one who finds the GBS fascinating! Are you familiar with the work of historian Jim Mollenkopf? I discovered his work on Amazon recently and have added a couple of his books to my wish list.

Actually, I do own a copy of his book, The Great Black Swamp, which I really enjoyed reading. I think my sister borrowed it and I forgot all about it until you mentioned it just now.

One thing I remember reading about in his book that still exists is the stone mile markers along Route 20 between Fremont and Perrysburg. You can see them every so often still stuck in the ditch line along the highway and they look like this:



Note that the initials on them for Fremont are "LS", instead of an "F" for Fremont, because back in the 1820s when they were placed, Fremont was still known as Lower Sandusky. Route 20 was one of, if not the first, original corduroy roads into the Great Black Swamp. It is so cool to see these markers that are almost 200 years old still in place today.

[randomparent]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Actually, I do own a copy of his book, The Great Black Swamp, which I really enjoyed reading. I think my sister borrowed it and I forgot all about it until you mentioned it just now.

One thing I remember reading about in his book that still exists is the stone mile markers along Route 20 between Fremont and Perrysburg. You can see them every so often still stuck in the ditch line along the highway and they look like this:



Note that the initials on them for Fremont are "LS", instead of an "F" for Fremont, because back in the 1820s when they were placed, Fremont was still known as Lower Sandusky. Route 20 was one of, if not the first, original corduroy roads into the Great Black Swamp. It is so cool to see these markers that are almost 200 years old still in place today.

Older members of my family always referred to that area as Lower Sandusky. Funny that I never made that connection before.