cultural landscape
Congaree National Park, like the Congaree River, is named after the Congaree people who once lived in the area. Unfortunately, not much is known about the Congaree people. It is believed that a significant number of the population died during the 17th and 18th centuries, probably due to war and disease brought on by European colonization. Over time, the remaining Congaree would have been absorbed into neighboring tribes.
Congaree National Park not only protects the largest area of southern native lowland forest remaining in the United States, it also preserves a landscape shaped by the many people who have lived and used the floodplain for thousands of years. . Humans, whether residents or visitors, positive or negative, have left their mark on this land and have helped make it what it is today. As we pass by the giant trees on the floodplain, we can't help but wonder what they saw during their lifetime.
oldest resident
Archaeological evidence suggests that humans have inhabited the area for at least 10,000 years. These early people were nomads, living in temporary camps and gathering whatever they needed while following the large mammals on which they depended for food. Over time, these nomadic groups formed small tribes, built more permanent villages, and experimented with crops and pottery. The introduction of corn, beans, and pumpkins eventually led to the consolidation of many of these small tribes into large emirates with large territories. It was these people who met the Spanish army under Hernando de Soto in April 1541.
wilderness explorer
Although his stay in Spain was short-lived, his influence was long-lasting. European diseases decimated the indigenous population, and pigs still remain, introduced for food. The English settlers who founded Charles Town in 1670 intended to stay here, but slowly moved inland as more settlers arrived. In 1701, British surveyor John Lawson traveled up the Santee River to the confluence of the Wateree and Congaree rivers. There he met the inhabitants who lived there, the remnants of the once great emirate who had met de Soto.
” [Congarees] British people are kind and friendly… [Although] Although their tribes and nations are adjacent to each other, great variation may be observed in their characteristics and attitudes, as well as their speech.
Although the two countries are not more than 10 or 20 miles apart, they are generally quite different from each other. ” – John Lawson
colonization of land
By the mid-1700s, news of rich farmland brought more settlers to the “Congaree” land between the Congaree and Wateree Rivers for the weather. Much of Congaree's floodplain was given to or claimed by planters who aimed to build wealth by planting cash crops such as rice and indigo. These settlers brought further changes to this landscape. Plantations were built and soon new roads crisscrossed the area, and ferries like the McCord Ferry (later renamed Bates Ferry) transported goods across the Congaree River to the coast. Land was cleared and levees were built in the floodplain to control periodic flooding. However, although many have tried, few have succeeded in truly taming this wilderness.
refuge from slavery
This jungle-like wilderness served as a refuge for enslaved people seeking freedom from an oppressive plantation economy. A few made the long journey north, but many instead fled into the forests in search of freedom while remaining close to family and supplies. These men and women, known as maroons, decided to live a harsh life in the wilderness, sometimes for years, rather than expose themselves to the brutality of slavery. Faced with both the threat of slave catchers and the unpredictability of nature, they resist slavery and choose to live as free people in the wilderness, deciding their future for themselves rather than having it decided for them. .
the champion begins to fall
The rapid industrialization of the United States after the Civil War needed fuel to build a rapidly expanding nation. The demand for wood was no exception. Francis Beidler of Chicago purchased his 15,000 acres of the Congaree floodplain to harvest a stand of giant old-growth cypresses. For nearly two decades, loggers cut down many of these giant trees and sent them downstream to his sawmill to be made into shingles, pilings or siding for houses. However, felling these trees was difficult and expensive, so by 1917 logging operations ceased and the landscape was preserved temporarily. But the danger that more giants might fall to the ax was not yet over.
the last of its kind
Although they no longer logged the land, the Beidlers continued to protect it in the hope that they would one day be able to log it again. During that time, they rented out some of their land to local hunting clubs for recreational use. Local newspaper editor Harry Hampton, a member of his one of those hunting clubs, spent time exploring the Congaree floodplains. He realized that it was a unique place, the last of its kind and size, and a place worth preserving. Through his newspaper columns, he advocated for the preservation of Congaree so that future generations could enjoy it as much as he did. He spoke to anyone who would listen and worked tirelessly to save his beloved forest from being lost forever.
Congaree Act Now
By the end of the 1960s, logging again threatened to topple the Congaree giant. Despite Harry Hampton's efforts, his efforts to preserve this champion forest were frustrated. But in the 1970s, a new generation of supporters rose up. Calling Congaree Action Now, activists from South Carolina and across the country lobbied Congress to make Congaree a national park. Through their tireless efforts, they convinced landowners to sell their land and Congress to establish Congaree Swamp National Monument in 1976. This promised to preserve the land for future generations to experience and enjoy in its natural state.
today's congaree
Redesignated as a national park in 2003, Congaree now includes more than 26,000 acres of lowland and upland forest in South Carolina's Midlands. As a federally designated nature preserve, important bird sanctuary, international biosphere reserve, and internationally significant Ramsar wetland, Congaree not only plays an ecologically important role, but also It also serves as a reminder of what's going on. European explorers and settlers. As a national park, people will forever be part of Congaree and an important part of this dynamic landscape.
“The strength of human history at Congaree Wetlands lies not only in the physically constructed remains of past activities, but also in the long, deep, rich, and valuable landscape of this place, which is as natural as it is natural.” There is a whole history of unmarked and cultural. – Elizabeth Almley
