from wetlands to farmlands

A hundred years ago, even earlier in some parts of Indiana, dredging operations were taking off ensuring swampland would be rid from the landscape, leaving only productive farmland in its place. Large dredges were assembled and plopped down on what may have been a shallow stream or creek, or maybe in an area where water stood for long portions of the year. Then they would commence dredging-digging a path or widening, straightening and deepening the stream to allow the land around it to fully drain.

In our county probably the most significant dredging operation was in the northwest corner, an area once rich in huckleberries and referred to as the huckleberry marsh. Pine Creek fed the marsh, which extended all the way to the Kankakee River some twenty miles away. Once Pine Creek was dredged this area opened up for farming. The Kankakee River was probably the largest dredging operation in the state.......taking a once pristine, meandering river and turning it into straight lines and relatively sharp angles. This changed the face of northwest Indiana forever.....completely drying up one of the largest wetland areas in the midwest. There was no longer a Kankakee marsh.

There evidently was decent pay in working on the dredge. My ancestors who lived in Fulton County, headed to Minnesota to dredge that state's immense wetlands. They sent back these photos to their wives and children back home. These photos were used to create the dredging display at the Northern Indiana Center for History.

Strange how we recognize the farming practices of 100 years ago aren't best for a healthy environment today and while there has been a great deal of wetlands saved through current conservation measures, at least in Indiana I don't believe we have any idea or appreciation of the value these provide.......and we certainly will never get back what we have lost.