History and myth run deep in the channels of The Great Dismal Swamp. It is famous as a place of refuge for runaway slaves – known as maroons, as an Underground Railroad site, and the failed land speculation of George Washington and the Dismal Swamp Land Company. The Dismal Swamp with its impenetrable undergrowth, and submerged twisted roots proved to be an ideal hiding place for run-away slaves and people wishing to live in hiding.
Great Dismal Swamp
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Osman
According to legend Osman, a black man living in the Dismal Swamp protected runaway slaves. After struggling through undergrowth David Hunder Strother was startled to catch sight of Osman. The hastily drawn sketch inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel
Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp. Jericho Ditch1330 White Marsh Road
Open to public. Parking. Historic Marker: “Jericho Ditch, 9 miles long was dug by slave labor in early 1800's to enable the Dismal Swamp Land Company to remove the timber, to drain lowland and provide access to Lake Drummond.” |
Additional Civil War-related Sites
The sites below are not official sites on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
Learn MoreSomerton Friends
5239 Quaker Drive
Parking Historic Marker: “George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), visited this area in 1672 during a missionary journey to Virginia and North Carolina. His visit encouraged Friends who had settled nearby and led to the organization of Somerton Friends Meeting. Members conducted worship in private homes and later built a meetinghouse three miles southwest of here. The Somerton meetinghouse, along with a nearby school for African Americans, was burned in 1866. The congregation constructed its current building on the same site in 1869. Somerton is the oldest active Quaker meeting in Virginia.” |
The Contraband Camp Kingsboro Neighborhood Area | No parking
The settlement known as “the Contraband Camp”, begun soon after the Union occupation of Suffolk in May 1862. Within a year, the population of the camp was estimated to be more than 2,000 escaped/free slaves. The established camp consisted of laid out streets, temporary homes and schools constructed out of surrounding materials such as pine and other growths of timber.
By Kermit Hobbs: In this area there once stood a settlement of escaped and freed slaves who came to Suffolk to live under the protection of Union forces who occupied the town in 1862 and 1863. Here, many would find employment in construction of defensive earthworks that were being built around Suffolk. Some volunteered for service in the Union army in the newly formed United States Colored Troops. These people were first known as “contrabands.” This word implied they were nothing more than property, stolen from their owners. However, after the adoption the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1963, they were declared to be free men, no longer slaves. Even though the name was not accurate, the area was known as the “Contraband Camp” or sometimes, “Union Town.” During the time of the Union occupation, the settlement grew to an estimated population of more than two thousand. The dwellings were laid out in streets and featured schools and a church, all built of whatever materials the inhabitants could find. One eyewitness stated that “They proved themselves quite expert in building their temporary homes, riving out material for their construction from pine and other growths of timber in the surroundings. Schools were established for the children, and the activities of a well ordered community were set in motion.” After the Union troops left Suffolk in July, 1863, the inhabitants moved on with the army, leaving the camp deserted. |