Meta tags:
description= A blog about the natural world around us, whether it be birds, insects, plants, geology, or more!;
Headings (most frequently used words):
the, on, blog, swamp, tuesday, 2016, about, this, in, subject, of, nature, saturday, november, 25, 2017, geological, setting, human, history, and, land, use, ivory, billed, woodpecker, carolina, parakeet, bachman, warbler, today, february, 16, january, 26, me, check, out, my, twitter, account, archive, search, labels, popular, posts, ross, geese, athens, little, blue, heron, salt, marsh,
Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (646), and (188), swamp (119), this (93), that (77), was (70), for (61), rice (59), carolina (55), ohio (47), were (43), from (41), which (40), species (35), are (34), south (33), you (33), but (33), they (31), with (29), white (29), little (29), have (27), swamps (26), most (26), these (26), goose (25), geese (25), #bachman (25), county (24), warbler (24), throughout (23), blue (23), all (23), there (23), heron (22), more (22), can (21), one (21), forest (20), would (20), many (20), ross (19), their (19), into (18), been (18), not (18), ivory (18), national (17), out (17), will (17), when (17), found (17), cultivation (17), history (16), rare (16), birds (16), herons (16), about (16), had (16), billed (16), habitat (16), plantation (16), fields (16), very (15), like (15), some (15), only (15), island (14), years (14), land (14), time (13), first (13), few (13), other (13), water (13), area (13), began (13), natural (12), juvenile (12), individuals (12), name (12), two (12), although (12), back (12), than (12), while (12), snow (12), giant (12), lowcountry (12), cane (12), southern (11), might (11), both (11), old (11), also (11), however (11), dark (11), how (11), now (11), what (11), around (11), last (11), extinct (11), used (11), woodpecker (11), parakeet (11), peoples (11), terrace (11), native (10), such (10), has (10), being (10), part (10), mature (10), trail (10), early (10), plantations (10), ornithology (9), athens (9), share (9), small (9), between (9), still (9), states (9), along (9), either (9), adults (9), river (9), through (9), 1800 (9), dikes (9), did (9), scarp (9), trees (8), marshes (8), plants (8), forests (8), coastal (8), february (8), them (8), during (8), including (8), plumage (8), essentially (8), same (8), egret (8), post (8), itself (8), then (8), blues (8), after (8), individual (8), caldwell (8), its (8), well (8), young (8), several (8), probably (8), find (8), enslaved (8), posts (7), new (7), americans (7), birding (7), bird (7), october (7), december (7), january (7), interesting (7), nature (7), because (7), called (7), long (7), see (7), united (7), where (7), over (7), system (7), past (7), large (7), people (7), any (7), southeastern (7), modified (7), destruction (7), 1700 (7), today (7), growth (7), areas (7), extensive (7), canebrakes (7), inland (7), fact (6), ocean (6), september (6), march (6), june (6), august (6), animals (6), location (6), why (6), take (6), bit (6), know (6), egrets (6), look (6), started (6), much (6), snowy (6), southeast (6), eastern (6), actually (6), west (6), within (6), typically (6), across (6), predators (6), flock (6), higher (6), nests (6), near (6), use (6), short (6), charleston (6), extinction (6), nearly (6), main (6), make (6), miles (6), relied (6), barrier (6), 1900 (6), confirmed (6), parakeets (6), african (6), wildlife (5), salt (5), parks (5), erie (5), human (5), american (5), blog (5), may (5), november (5), wayne (5), comes (5), end (5), kyle (5), world (5), subject (5), just (5), read (5), marsh (5), life (5), names (5), due (5), breeding (5), common (5), even (5), pretty (5), flocks (5), lower (5), chance (5), feature (5), suggests (5), likely (5), better (5), photo (5), right (5), nest (5), once (5), reading (5), reports (5), populations (5), francis (5), marion (5), interpretive (5), tracts (5), way (5), second (5), landscape (5), secondary (5), canals (5), wythewood (5), africa (5), industry (5), sadly (5), naturalists (5), warblers (5), could (5), low (5), audubon (5), want (5), santee (5), clear (5), region (5), occurred (5), formed (5), coast (5), check (4), geology (4), state (4), park (4), wetlands (4), habitats (4), photography (4), university (4), lake (4), insects (4), hocking (4), atlantic (4), labels (4), 2016 (4), black (4), brooks (4), refuge (4), mentioned (4), field (4), here (4), open (4), went (4), shallow (4), upon (4), differences (4), groups (4), makes (4), term (4), those (4), call (4), ones (4), late (4), show (4), link (4), predator (4), come (4), hunting (4), fish (4), above (4), group (4), information (4), came (4), studies (4), age (4), juveniles (4), often (4), seems (4), survival (4), adult (4), left (4), colored (4), mixed (4), rate (4), isn (4), year (4), relatively (4), greater (4), each (4), canada (4), brought (4), hard (4), whether (4), neck (4), bill (4), visitors (4), never (4), wetland (4), truly (4), fascinating (4), modification (4), impacted (4), three (4), extirpated (4), bottomland (4), civil (4), war (4), majority (4), decline (4), factors (4), who (4), gone (4), channels (4), recorded (4), became (4), successional (4), cut (4), dense (4), observed (4), made (4), indeed (4), john (4), james (4), known (4), 1930 (4), sightings (4), experienced (4), mid (4), led (4), timber (4), created (4), elevations (4), european (4), 000 (4), fires (4), ago (4), princess (4), anne (4), geological (4), series (4), unusual (3), travel (3), account (3), reptiles (3), ottawa (3), class (3), important (3), fairfield (3), april (3), july (3), 2015 (3), selection (3), great (3), filled (3), places (3), talk (3), surrounding (3), home (3), usa (3), pinterest (3), facebook (3), blogthis (3), email (3), comments (3), posted (3), wasn (3), prior (3), visited (3), absolutely (3), freshwater (3), walk (3), extremely (3), aside (3), level (3), something (3), until (3), turns (3), certain (3), english (3), hand (3), aigrette (3), grow (3), season (3), various (3), don (3), down (3), completely (3), reasons (3), deceiving (3), stands (3), half (3), nesting (3), meaning (3), nowhere (3), coloration (3), 1986 (3), attacked (3), foraging (3), alone (3), eyes (3), less (3), addition (3), having (3), heavily (3), almost (3), always (3), really (3), away (3), reason (3), migration (3), using (3), central (3), utilize (3), cause (3), case (3), seen (3), note (3), help (3), tiny (3), bills (3), ultimately (3), site (3), bits (3), pieces (3), story (3), humans (3), utilized (3), bald (3), logging (3), despite (3), place (3), ancient (3), consequently (3), 300 (3), work (3), before (3), highly (3), bamboo (3), forming (3), destroyed (3), nowadays (3), remember (3), period (3), 1920 (3), certainly (3), further (3), specific (3), lived (3), fairlawn (3), next (3), inhabiting (3), florida (3), handful (3), north (3), wadmacon (3), population (3), living (3), say (3), historical (3), map (3), hardwood (3), originally (3), production (3), wappetaw (3), portion (3), impact (3), reservoir (3), needed (3), flooded (3), colonists (3), topic (3), dominated (3), wildfires (3), step (3), receded (3), shoreline (3), hill (2), caterpillars (2), snakes (2), listed (2), science (2), road (2), research (2), pickaway (2), york (2), mammals (2), maine (2), conservation (2), plain (2), prey (2), behavior (2), anthropology (2), amphibians (2), southwest (2), 2017 (2), twitter (2), cover (2), range (2), forces (2), pinckney (2), recently (2), took (2), 2000 (2), mile (2), trip (2), winter (2), break (2), locations (2), visit (2), pond (2), wondering (2), begins (2), transition (2), deep (2), maturity (2), moment (2), color (2), difference (2), significance (2), doesn (2), basically (2), family (2), word (2), germanic (2), middle (2), based (2), french (2), pronounced (2), decorative (2), plumes (2), separate (2), sized (2), feet (2), breed (2), northern (2), pairs (2), nested (2), wading (2), forage (2), stand (2), wait (2), instead (2), bristle (2), pictured (2), worms (2), easy (2), pickings (2), researching (2), done (2), background (2), dimorphic (2), regard (2), incredibly (2), preyed (2), sense (2), attack (2), does (2), factor (2), 1981 (2), accept (2), themselves (2), negative (2), success (2), catching (2), let (2), everything (2), therefore (2), killed (2), subadults (2), mate (2), every (2), play (2), previously (2), simply (2), among (2), nestling (2), order (2), knows (2), get (2), nestlings (2), your (2), transitioning (2), entire (2), previous (2), tuesday (2), shaped (2), week (2), hundreds (2), fronted (2), bring (2), scattered (2), heard (2), reported (2), side (2), turned (2), continued (2), hanging (2), quite (2), stems (2), plains (2), flyway (2), etc (2), front (2), lack (2), size (2), another (2), dependent (2), best (2), mustache (2), smaller (2), dainty (2), northwestern (2), waterfowl (2), rest (2), awendaw (2), reaches (2), lies (2), forested (2), wando (2), otherwise (2), quickly (2), article (2), inhabit (2), become (2), required (2), exist (2), logged (2), drained (2), cypresses (2), appropriate (2), via (2), unchecked (2), farmers (2), viewed (2), reflect (2), bound (2), section (2), tupelos (2), drier (2), alligators (2), banks (2), otters (2), true (2), should (2), forever (2), flows (2), earthen (2), changed (2), sorrow (2), lost (2), runs (2), colonial (2), dangerous (2), owners (2), slave (2), times (2), high (2), owner (2), slaves (2), allow (2), whole (2), cuba (2), prevalent (2), specialist (2), disappeared (2), growing (2), remaining (2), vanished (2), disturbed (2), sighting (2), type (2), thorough (2), example (2), ecology (2), specifically (2), didn (2), 1833 (2), arthur (2), recommend (2), man (2), perhaps (2), painting (2), saw (2), untouched (2), harbored (2), woodpeckers (2), credible (2), society (2), 1810 (2), outside (2), 100 (2), louisiana (2), raised (2), remained (2), too (2), mere (2), without (2), doubt (2), earlier (2), point (2), pockets (2), topographic (2), context (2), corner (2), georgetown (2), thousands (2), 1750 (2), companies (2), nearby (2), lands (2), established (2), subsistence (2), characteristic (2), company (2), build (2), 1861 (2), commercial (2), ceased (2), controlled (2), clayfield (2), jacob (2), bond (2), current (2), present (2), process (2), fire (2), impounded (2), opened (2), trunks (2), flow (2), downhill (2), tidal (2), tides (2), method (2), asian (2), cultivar (2), carolinas (2), knowledge (2), oryza (2), dive (2), dissertation (2), 1670 (2), settlers (2), emigrated (2), charles (2), town (2), intensity (2), form (2), mount (2), pleasant (2), formation (2), east (2), scarps (2), behind (2), showing (2), label (2), picture, window, theme, powered, blogger, poisonous, canadian, caterpillar, invades, midwest, watkins, glen, melanistic, garter, snake, witches, bong, fuzzy, variety, popular, zoos, centers, zion, wildflowers, waterfalls, vinton, venomous, utah, updates, finds, turtles, tracks, spring, spiders, scioto, salamanders, tripping, rattlesnake, prairies, petrified, painted, desert, orchids, orb, weavers, oklahoma, landmarks, mexico, navajo, monuments, muskingum, moths, lizards, licking, lepidoptera, islands, messages, hills, hiking, herping, herpetology, greene, frogs, federally, fayette, endangered, dragonflies, deserts, delaware, champaign, caves, camping, butterflies, botany, banding, beetles, beaches, backpacking, arthropods, arizona, arachnids, apache, allegheny, plateau, adams, acadia, search, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, photos, hawk, saga, 2019, archive, incredible, intriguing, aims, highlight, subjects, issues, wide, topics, obscure, mundane, tiniest, earth, altering, geologic, latest, scientific, trends, basic, beyond, view, complete, profile, subscribe, atom, older, bluffton, 29910, solo, spent, racking, total, lifers, months, day, wonderful, tip, preserve, saltwater, productive, named, ibis, thinking, kind, definitely, thought, mean, closely, related, linguistic, societal, ardeidae, talking, etymology, study, origin, languages, translate, refers, borrowed, morphed, applied, evolutionary, legged, waders, biological, basis, intermixed, genera, medium, tall, commonly, resident, sub, tropical, cousin, sporadically, sometimes, irrupt, northward, summer, finished, confined, colony, sister, lucas, counties, magee, core, shyer, preferring, edges, singly, prefers, quietly, actively, feed, crustaceans, inches, watched, him, slowly, carefully, stalked, turning, his, head, inspect, eventually, struck, substrate, pulled, worm, polychaeta, diverse, mostly, marine, segmented, summarize, gloria, papers, give, dimorphism, hawks, glance, hindrance, complicated, significantly, watching, able, commit, successful, flocking, readily, apt, mitigate, effect, foraged, sum, far, accepted, avoid, predation, fed, making, adulthood, passing, genes, beneficial, ensures, stage, maintained, selective, pressure, attempt, think, selected, fail, implies, else, greens, action, sore, thumb, blends, inconspicuous, fly, escape, watch, bringing, food, locate, try, hide, costs, conspicuous, attention, grabbing, waltz, reduce, chances, helps, ensure, selects, plumaged, optimizes, cycle, thanks, obba, cottonmouth, 45701, spectacular, migratory, flights, awhile, beginning, month, pouring, ebird, media, reporting, dozens, weeks, luckily, got, partake, calling, goosapalooza, professor, phil, cantino, western, days, yesterday, feb, students, myself, drove, fairgrounds, sure, enough, 150, diminutive, favorite, aren, globally, rarity, routes, breeds, overwinters, distinct, california, overwinter, migrate, since, occasionally, storm, mistake, veer, off, course, flight, weather, blame, superficially, nice, comparison, chased, wingtips, shows, domestic, wings, tell, miniature, duck, version, stubby, longer, holding, good, solely, base, identification, mark, distinctive, necked, identifies, exciting, hadn, yet, hotspot, winters, array, add, list, live, keep, cackling, taken, 29429, nestled, storied, upper, tributary, cooper, bay, intent, hike, alluring, biology, tried, learn, learned, internet, encompassing, hope, weave, together, utilization, begin, especially, virgin, followed, parrot, denizen, floodplains, sycamores, plummeting, exact, causes, ultimate, debated, agree, combination, attain, colorful, feathers, pests, contributed, eventual, demise, scars, nevertheless, enjoy, forget, moments, looks, hurricane, hugo, slammed, 1989, winds, knocked, impressive, dwarf, palmettos, ground, red, maples, hold, dot, wetter, knees, jut, tannin, stained, bask, swim, surface, extent, scarred, easily, uncommon, unnatural, separated, shouldn, hangs, air, lives, unnecessarily, feels, entirety, atop, belonged, marvel, engineering, feat, represent, feel, overwhelming, realize, toiled, sugar, harsh, ending, oppressive, heat, rampant, diseases, brutal, affair, injuries, deaths, commonplace, mortality, working, mind, numbing, consider, children, died, reached, profit, margins, person, cost, dispensable, commodity, mentality, unfathomable, visiting, difficult, endeavor, gravel, dirt, roads, access, exists, offers, easiest, allows, glimpse, bushwhacking, choice, sole, contributor, exacerbated, wintering, potentially, unknown, helped, drive, notes, presence, descriptions, mention, vicinity, contained, leaves, niche, apparent, component, remsen, published, impenetrable, understories, recent, proved, travelers, finicky, slow, plant, reproduction, unable, fully, recolonize, sites, former, approximately, arundinaria, gigantea, auk, argued, unlikely, depended, 1948, 1953, intense, prevalence, scientists, hypothesize, similar, winged, prairie, rely, similarly, 1988, debate, hypotheses, put, forth, everyone, agrees, exactly, requirements, conducted, confusing, contradictory, complicates, matters, others, killer, said, rather, misunderstood, actual, ever, thankfully, systematically, searching, property, 1906, providing, evidence, stopover, mysterious, described, discovered, decades, seemingly, rediscovered, victorian, ornithologist, 1901, remnants, ornithological, endeavors, page, biography, final, discuss, famous, birders, migrant, songbird, bred, overwintered, reynolda, house, museum, art, 1904, wild, promptly, 1918, death, captive, 1939, declared, officially, tantalizing, trickled, georgia, 1960, unconfirmed, wardens, hired, existence, remnant, existing, plausible, thoughts, seeing, facing, trouble, cypress, whose, cavities, cleared, disappear, 1840, details, noted, rarely, 1850, already, intensely, farmed, 1820, 1830, means, 1825, jumped, public, eye, arkansas, light, question, remote, alive, viable, functionally, 1938, 1915, remain, 1944, generally, assumed, added, geographical, bottom, top, usgs, inhabited, 1770, wave, contemporary, accounts, sections, unscathed, agricultural, possible, sustain, letters, drawings, 1805, 1892, houghton, library, harvard, focus, actions, directly, indirectly, explore, locally, wambaw, hellhole, value, least, government, promise, department, interior, purchasing, starting, newly, purchased, foundation, formally, 1936, includes, regrowing, regrow, farming, reforested, tract, noticed, booming, 1910, bought, 1925, oaks, sweetgum, recolonizing, abandoned, broke, collapsed, 1870, freed, prominently, later, dike, running, peripheries, development, sewee, indian, sweet, tribe, given, 1790, popped, pushing, richer, buying, consolidate, expand, importantly, gain, control, consolidation, big, acres, gather, spoke, non, rhotic, born, pronounce, sound, words, iron, pronouncing, spelling, stuck, changing, alters, vegetation, wreak, havoc, undoubtedly, benefited, change, marshland, migrating, shorebirds, overall, brief, overview, worked, shrubs, axes, saws, elaborate, channeled, highest, parts, finally, connect, creeks, rivers, swampland, met, watertight, gates, valves, installed, closed, dam, lowest, points, allowing, leading, creek, trunk, 200, canal, methods, moved, gravity, principle, movement, types, domesticated, eat, cultivars, grown, gold, colonies, explorers, traders, traveled, expanding, labor, horrific, satisfy, need, senegambia, sierra, leone, regions, practicing, developed, efficient, implemented, glaberrima, sativa, briefly, articles, entitled, approachable, real, interested, sort, piece, rich, grounds, specialization, culture, hayden, smith, economy, fur, trading, 1860, crop, dominant, force, effects, exploration, 1500, 1600, significant, numbers, british, city, rapidly, grew, rapid, moving, settle, immediately, earnestly, settled, 1690, greatest, environmental, stemmed, lightning, strikes, historically, frequently, longleaf, pine, savannas, understory, easier, conducive, settlement, ample, burns, thousand, permanently, seasonally, host, devoid, 500, tribes, permanent, settlements, five, modify, idea, alongside, scale, manner, alter, benefit, misconception, recessions, recession, formations, pattern, repeating, subsequently, lying, sides, suggest, russell, willis, elevation, resulting, depression, collected, ice, ended, temperatures, warmed, original, primeval, headwaters, drains, geneticstratigraphy, geochronology, interglacial, shorelines, figured, doar, ralph, willoughby, dnr, survey, revision, pleistocene, dorchester, summerville, limits, penholoway, complex, processes, uplifting, america, periodic, sea, rises, falls, driven, glacial, cycles, steps, dry, mainland, creation, narrow, sand, dune, flat, slightly, sloping, lagoons, setting, saturday,
Text of the page (random words):
national forest lies a swamp with a long and storied history this forested wetland the i on swamp lies on the upper reaches of the wando river a tributary to the cooper river and ultimately the charleston bay i visited the i on swamp back in october with the intent to hike a short interpretive trail look for some reptiles and otherwise see an area i had often heard about the i on swamp is truly an alluring site with a fascinating history with regard to geology biology and human history when i tried to learn more about the history and nature of this swamp i quickly learned that there are many bits and pieces of information scattered across the internet but it was hard to find a more encompassing article on the swamp with this post i hope to weave together these bits and pieces into a story on how humans utilized and modified the i on swamp throughout history and how this utilization and modification impacted three now extinct species of birds which used to inhabit the swamp geological setting the story of the i on swamp begins long ago when a series of complex geological processes took place that ultimately led to the formation of this southern freshwater swamp due to both uplifting forces in eastern north america and periodic sea level rises and falls driven by glacial cycles the atlantic ocean receded from the coast of what is now south carolina in a series of steps each time the ocean receded from the then current coast of south carolina a new shoreline and a new barrier island system were consequently formed as this new shoreline and new barrier island system were formed the previous shoreline and barrier island system would be left high and dry on the mainland this step like process led to the creation of a series of scarps and terrace s essentially a scarp is a narrow but long hill formed from the old sand dune system that was present on what used to be the barrier island system while a terrace is a flat slightly sloping area behind the scarp that used to be both the back half of the barrier island as well as the shallow marshes and or lagoons behind the island figured modified from revision of the pleistocene dorchester and summerville scarps the inland limits of the penholoway terrace central south carolina by w r doar and ralph willoughby south carolina dnr geological survey one of these step like coastal recessions occurred around 85 000 years ago this specific recession formed the mount pleasant scarp and the princess anne terrace and these formations bring us to the geological context for the i on swamp because the atlantic ocean receded in a step like pattern along the south carolina coast a series of repeating scarp terrace scarp terrace scarp formation were created subsequently each low lying terrace was bound on its east and west sides by a higher scarp if you want to really dive into this topic i suggest reading geneticstratigraphy and geochronology of last interglacial shorelines on the central coast of south carolina by russell willis in the case of the princess anne terrace to the west was the awendaw scarp and to the east was the mount pleasant scarp both of which were higher in elevation than the terrace itself because of the resulting u shaped depression water collected in the princess anne terrace forming a wetland after the last ice age ended and the temperatures in the area warmed plants and animals that are characteristic of a southern freshwater swamp emigrated into this wetland forming the original primeval i on swamp this swamp went on to form the headwaters of the wando river which drains the southern half of the princess anne terrace human history and land use for the majority of the past several thousand years this area had been a mature swamp forest swamps are a type of wetland which are dominated by trees and are either permanently or seasonally flooded ivory billed woodpeckers american alligators river otters and a whole host of other animals lived throughout this old growth swamp the area was not devoid of humans however in fact native americans first began inhabiting south carolina around 9 000 to 10 000 years ago around 3 500 years ago tribes began to form more permanent settlements along the coast of south carolina right near the i on swamp which is itself only about five miles from the atlantic ocean it is important to note that these native peoples did impact and modify the land including the i on swamp the idea of native americans living alongside the land is a bit of a misconception we now know that native americans did indeed alter the land to benefit them just not as on a large scale manner as people do nowadays the greatest environmental impact from the native americans in this region stemmed from their use of fire natural wildfires ones started through lightning strikes historically occurred frequently throughout the lowcountry of south carolina with many habitats in the lowcountry being dependent on such wildfires some habitats such as longleaf pine savannas experienced natural fires as often as 1 5 years swamps like the i on swamp however experienced natural fires once every 25 100 years in addition to the natural wildfires which occurred throughout the lowcountry many fires were also started by the native americans living in the region these native peoples made ample use of low intensity burns to both open the understory for easier to travel and make the areas more conducive for hunting among other reasons there is no doubt that low intensity fires started by the native peoples impacted the i on swamp prior to european settlement european exploration of the south carolina coastal areas began in the 1500 s but it wasn t until the mid 1600 s that european settlers emigrated to the region in significant numbers in 1670 british settlers established a city called charles town only 20 miles southwest of the i on swamp charles town which we now know as charleston rapidly grew this rapid growth led to other colonists moving out from charleston to settle the surrounding land the area immediately around the i on swamp itself began to be earnestly settled in the 1690 s it was around this time that the economy of coastal south carolina began transitioning from one dominated by fur trading to one dominated by rice cultivation from 1700 1860 rice was the crop to grow in coastal south carolina rice cultivation became the dominant force that impacted the i on and other nearby swamps during this period and the effects can still be seen today before i dive into how rice cultivation changed the landscape of the i on swamp i want to briefly talk about rice cultivation in the carolinas while researching articles for this topic i relied heavily on dr hayden smith s ph d dissertation entitled rich swamps and rice grounds the specialization of inland rice culture in the south carolina lowcountry 1670 1861 this dissertation was fascinating to read and is very approachable for those like me without any real background knowledge in the topic if you re interested in this sort of historical subject i highly recommend reading the piece which you can find at this link there are two main types of domesticated rice in the world asian rice oryza sativa and african rice oryza glaberrima the rice we eat today are cultivars of asian rice but the rice that was grown in the colonial united states was most likely a cultivar of african rice specifically a cultivar called carolina gold african rice was originally brought to the carolina colonies by european explorers and traders that traveled to africa when rice cultivation in the carolinas began expanding in the early to mid 1700 s the colonists started to utilize enslaved peoples from africa to work the rice fields there were two main reasons for this first the colonists needed more people for labor and african slaves were sadly a horrific way to satisfy this need second many of these enslaved peoples came from the senegambia and sierra leone regions of west africa the peoples of west africa had been practicing rice cultivation for nearly 2 000 years and during this time they had developed a very efficient method for growing the rice using dikes and flooded fields enslaved african peoples brought with them this knowledge of rice cultivation which was then implemented in the carolina lowcountry there were two main methods of rice cultivation in the carolina lowcountry tidal rice cultivation and inland rice cultivation as the name suggests tidal rice cultivation relied on the tides which moved water in and out of impounded rice fields near the ocean via canals inland rice cultivation on the other hand relied on gravity inland rice plantations utilized the principle that water flows downhill from higher elevations to lower elevations due to the location of the i on swamp tides were not a factor in the movement of water consequently plantations in the i on swamp utilized the inland rice cultivation method a 200 year old wythewood plantation canal along the i on swamp interpretive trail here is a very brief overview of how the inland rice cultivation process worked in the swamps of the carolina lowcountry the enslaved peoples would first clear the land of trees and shrubs by using fire axes and saws after the land was clear they would then build elaborate earthen dikes that channeled and controlled the water found within the swamp a reservoir would first be created at the highest elevations within an area which might have been only a mere 3 6 feet higher than the low parts of the surrounding swamp impounded fields where the rice would grow would then be created at the middle or lower elevations finally canals and channels would be created to connect the reservoir to the rice fields and the rice fields to the natural creeks and rivers throughout the swampland at each point where one section met another a rice trunk which are essentially watertight gates valves would be installed that could either be opened or closed if the rice fields needed to be flooded they would open rice trunks on the reservoir dam and allow the water to flow downhill through channels and into the rice fields if the rice fields needed to be drained rice trunks at the lowest points of the fields would be opened allowing the water to flow out of the fields and into channels leading to a creek or river as you can see changing a mature swamp to a rice plantation alters not only the vegetation of a swamp but the entire landscape as well this level of landscape modification would wreak havoc on the ecology of an area like the i on swamp some animals or plants undoubtedly benefited due to the change from dense swamp forest to a more open marshland say for example some species of migrating shorebirds or waterfowl but the overall impact was negative for the majority of the species that were originally present the peripheries of the i on swamp experienced development for rice cultivation as early as the 1750 s if not a bit earlier at this time the swamp was known as the wappetaw swamp wappetaw was a sewee indian term meaning sweet water and was a name that tribe had given the swamp from the 1790 s to the 1810 s more and more plantations popped up in the area many of which were pushing further and further into the swamp at the same time several of the richer plantation owners in the area began buying out some of the smaller plantations to consolidate land they did this to both expand their rice production and perhaps most importantly gain more thorough control of the water for their fields as this consolidation occurred a few big name plantations that controlled thousands of acres formed these were the fairlawn plantation in the southern portion of the swamp the wythewood plantation in the northwestern portion and the clayfield plantation in the eastern portion the early owner of the clayfield plantation was jacob bond i on which is where the current name for the swamp stems from from what i could gather most people called this swamp the wappetaw swamp during the 1700 s and 1800 s and the name didn t transition to the i on swamp until the 1900 s as an interesting aside this part of the lowcountry spoke non rhotic english in the 1700 s and early 1800 s meaning that people born and raised in this region did not pronounce the r sound in words jacob bond i on s last name is actually a modification of the name iron this name was modified to reflect how people were pronouncing the name and the spelling stuck both with the i on family but also the i on swamp old wythewood plantation rice dike the trail running through the right side of the photo by the mid 1800 s essentially all of the i on swamp had been modified for rice cultivation however that isn t to say that all the land had been turned into rice fields there were probably still pockets of young secondary growth swamp forest in places that had originally been logged in order build canals and dikes but that were not ultimately used as a rice field when the civil war broke out in 1861 the rice industry in the south collapsed essentially all the commercial rice cultivation in the i on swamp ceased by 1870 although commercial production ceased after the civil war subsistence rice production by now freed african americans continued in small tracts around the i on swamp for the next 30 years most prominently in what had been the wythewood plantation a plantation which will come into play later on in this story the forest began to regrow in any part of the swamp which were not being used for subsistence farming during this post civil war period hardwood trees characteristic of southern bottomland forests various oaks tupelos sweetgum etc began recolonizing the abandoned fields and dikes by 1900 essentially all of the i on swamp was reforested by a young secondary growth forest this extensive tract of hardwood trees was quickly noticed by a booming southeastern timber industry between 1900 and 1910 a large timber company bought most of the old plantation lands in the i on swamp by 1920 1925 this company had clear cut nearly all the trees throughout the i on swamp various hardwood species regrowing in the i on swamp after timber companies clear cut the i on swamp and nearby swamps such as the wambaw and hellhole swamps the land lost its value at least in the eyes of the timber companies the government however saw some promise and the department of the interior began purchasing these tracts of land starting in the late 1920 s these newly purchased lands became the foundation for francis marion national forest which was formally established in 1936 nowadays the majority of the coastal land between charleston and georgetown is part of this national forest and that includes most of the i on swamp itself for the rest of this post i want to focus on the ivory billed woodpecker carolina parakeet and the bachman s warbler these three species all of which are now extinct used to inhabit swamps throughout the southeastern united states including the i on swamp its...
|
