One of the most important pathways in early Middle America is found here in our region. It passed through the Great Marsh and was known
as “The Portage” by the French explorers who recognized it as a strategic part
of the most direct water route to the Wabash
and Mississippi
- supported nicely by a tributary we know today as the Ohio
River. The Portage
was the only land barrier that stood in the way and connected Quebec with New Orleans by joining the Maumee and Wabash
river valleys.
As early as 1701 the English governor of the colony of New York invited the Miami people to trade
there. Although some trade may have taken place, the Miami chose instead to strengthen their
position on the Maumee-Wabash portage line. In turn, the French were compelled
to set up trading and military posts at Kekionga, now Fort Wayne, and Ouiatenon, near present-day Lafayette. The Miami
then invited the English to come west to trade, but all did not turn out so
well for them. Rather than creating a partnership with both the French and the
English, it instigated contention among the two competing European nations, each
strategizing for Miami
loyalty.
When the first
explorers and fur traders came along, the resident Indian population introduced
them to the short land bridge separating two important river systems. Historians describe it as being a stretch of
land ranging from six to nine miles in length depending on the time of the year
that joined the navigable portions of the St. Mary’s River – which helps form
the Maumee
flowing into Lake Erie – and the Little Wabash River that connects the Mississippi via the Wabash
and Ohio rivers. During periods of high water, American
Indians spoke of having passed from one river to the other in their canoes, and
in fac,t today’s U.S. Highway 24 west generally follows along the passage
connecting Fort Wayne
with Huntington.
In many ways the land barrier separated an expanding America from a
yet to be developed one, which led to the creation of an artificial waterway. In
the days of sprawling marshes and wilderness forests, a canal was constructed
and boats could be seen gliding along, offering transportation between the Midwest and the Eastern Seaboard. Through this land
barrier into the Mississippi River on to the Gulf of Mexico an immigrant route was created that helped
start up towns and enlarge old ones.
A gift of geography, this throughway originally was shaped
by an ice glacier as it receded some ten thousand years ago, establishing a vast
marshland. To the east it formed the Black Swamp
and Lake Erie. To the west, the Wabash River
valley was created. However, the great
lake and the state river are not all that marks the great geological event.
For the last ten or so thousand years, the path of the
glacier’s melt water that formed the Little Wabash River made a passageway for
native peoples and animals alike, beginning as a footpath expanding to cart
path, to canal towpath, to rail beds and finally roads and highways. Efforts to
drain the Great Marsh began in the late 1800s.
After four attempts, the rich bottom land was successfully ditched and
drained for farming. Nonetheless, it
tended to get too wet during rainy years but some persistent farmers did work
the land of the old marsh.
Now after more than twenty years, the non-profit Little
River Wetlands Project is restoring wetlands once part of the original 25,000
acre Great Marsh through the work of a dedicated board, staff, and volunteers. A group of citizens began the project in 1990,
concerned with the knowledge that 85% of Indiana’s
original wetlands had been lost. In Allen
County the disappearance
of wetlands meant the local rivers were more prone to flooding and native
wildlife was at risk due to habitat loss. The organization’s founders soon identified
the Little Wabash River
Valley not fully built up
with home and commercial structures still had land available for wetlands
restoration and protection.
As the Little River Wetlands Project has grown, it has
restored three properties to wetlands: Eagle Marsh, Arrowhead Marsh and
Arrowhead Prairie. With these preserves and
a conservation easement on private land, the organization now protects over
1,000 natural acres in the Little Wabash River
valley. Eagle Marsh, the largest preserve at 705 acres, has been slowly
returned to its original historical grandeur over the past three years. When combined with National Serv-All’s
adjacent mitigated wetlands area and Fox
Island County
Park, the entire space forms
nearly two square miles of natural habitat. Currently, the Project is seeking financial
contributions to add 67 acres of land to Arrowhead Prairie. All three preserves
need continued stewardship care to ensure future success, but native plants
have already returned and wildlife abounds. A drive along Eagle Road offers a glimpse of great blue
herons, mallards and sometimes bald eagles or ospreys at Eagle Marsh. Tiny surprises emerge too, like the thousands
of American toad hatchlings seen in the spring along nature trails at the
preserve.
Such successes do not
happen without the careful planning, the support of Little River members, and committed
volunteers willing to work long hard hours.
Challenges continue to abound and are being met by thoughtful
stewardship to nurture new native plants to continue the effort. Thus a truly little wetland offers a big experience with a glimpse into the scenery of our own heritage.
Originally published in Fort Wayne Monthly “Along the Heritage Trail” – April 2010 No 65
Allen
County Historian
Tom Castaldi is author of the Wabash
& Erie Canal Notebook series; hosts “On the Heritage Trail” which is
broadcast Mondays on 89.1 fm WBOI; and “Historia Nostra” heard on Redeemer
Radio 106.3 fm. Enjoy his previously
published columns on the History
Center’s blog “Our
Stories” at historycenterfw.blogspot.com.
