'They were seeking freedom:' Centuries-old secrets hidden in giant coastal swamp

Whether they realize it or not, the thousands who go hiking, biking or boating at Dismal Swamp State Park have passed near remnants of the Underground Railroad – and relics from the communities of free Black families who chose to make that swamp their home.

Few understand the value of freedom more than those who had theirs taken away. In the 1800s, men and women running from plantations were willing to do nearly anything to protect their freedom – including running headlong into an enormous swamp full of unseen dangers.

Artistic depictions of the 1800s show the Dismal Swamp as a place straight out of nightmares. One famous painting shows a father, mother and baby standing in knee-high muck, surrounded by trees the size of skyscrapers with massive, curling roots and curtains of moss and ivy. Creatures can be vaguely seen, camouflaged in the overgrowth and shadows. You can see the whites of their wide eyes, indicating a sense of terror and watchfulness.

In the swamp, even the landscape itself was dangerous.

"There's also a lot of peat soil that's really deep in places, so you might be walking and literally take a step forward and sink up to your neck in the muck." says Sanford. Today, trails and boardwalks keep visitors to the safer parts of the swamp.

Even with all the risks, the swamp was still preferable to slavery.

"They were seeking freedom," says Sanford.

The Dismal Swamp is also home to a myriad of terrifying myths: Enormous balls of giant snakes coiled together into a nightmare knot, a spooky series of ghosts or a 'Swamp Witch' said to wander the woods, and deadly vapors rising from the dark waters.

In 1888, a man named Robert Arnold said, "A gentleman ... saw snakes coming from every direction ... He supposed that there must have been as many as 500, all so interwoven that they looked like a ball of snakes."

In a letter to his wife in France, another visitor wrote in 1807 that the swamp's "poisonous vapor, which produces sickness and death" gave a pale, yellow pallor to the faces of those who breathed too much.

At night, people claimed to hear strange and eerie noises coming from the surrounding darkness of the trees and water – sounds they attributed to ghosts or spirits.

"We have some nocturnal animals that make some very frightening sounds at night that if you don't know what they are, they'll scare you half to death," says Sanford. "It's just my theory, but it makes sense to me. Someone heard a bobcat scream, and it turned into a Swamp Witch."

Even today, those sounds persist. However, Sanford says it's likely the people who lived in the swamp spread these scary myths in order to prevent slavecatchers from following those seeking freedom into the swamp.

In eastern North Carolina, where swamps are prevalent, it was common for people escaping slavery to hide in swamps, where they were less likely to be followed. Laying in knee-deep water or mud, camouflaging themselves among the overgrowth alongside snakes and alligators were among the risks a person might have to face.

The Dismal Swamp was likely particularly attractive to freedom seekers due to its size and the fact that it was on a popular transportation route. Running alongside the swamp is a canal that played a major role in the area's economic growth, The canal took over a decade to build, and it was built using enslaved labor. With so many enslaved men and women working along the canal each day, they were able to gain familiarity with the swamp. In other parts of the state, it wasn't unheard of for freedom seekers to 'hide' among large groups of enslaved workers, who would help them reach freedom. It's very possible the large enslaved workforce was able to spread information about safe routes through the swamp. Some enslaved men and women played their own role in the Underground Railroad, even if they didn't seek to escape themselves.

Another reason the Dismal Swamp became a popular route on the Underground Railroad was because of the colonies of free Black families living within, who could help freedom seekers along the way. Not everyone escaping from slavery passed all the way through the swamp. Some chose to settle there and make a home within the protection – and danger – of the swamp's trees.

Why would someone choose to make a life in such a dismal place?

"Some would have chosen to stay because they had loved ones on nearby plantations who hadn't escaped yet," says Sanford. "That's ultimately what it all came down to for them – being able to live in freedom, even if it was here in the swamp with a difficult existence."

Sanford says the communities, known as Maroon Colonies, likely lived by hunting small game and growing gardens.

"There's evidence they constructed cabins to live in and possibly had gardens to raise food for themselves," says Sanford. "The belief is that the largest Maroon Colony in the United States was right here in the Dismal Swamp."

The water was much higher back then than it is today, and Maroon Colonies would develop in areas of higher ground, which essentially formed islands in the swamp.

Artistic renderings of the Maroon Colonies don't show full cabins with doors and four walls. Rather, they indicate more of a wooden lean-to, which would not have fully protected against the swamp's dangers. They were built using the plentiful Cypress and Cedar trees in the area.

Sanford says a historian and archeologist named Dr. Dan Sayers has explored the riskier areas of the swamp searching for remnants of the Maroon Colonies. His work has allowed them to create a map showing likely locations of the colonies and possible pathways through the swamp used by the Underground Railroad. However, even with today's lower water, she says the journey is difficult.

"Dr. Sayers has alluded to wading thigh-deep through mud and water to get to the sites," says Sanford. "It still boggles my mind that bears and things can walk around in the woods out there because there are vines and thorns everywhere."

The journey was difficult, but helped protect the Maroon Colonies.

"It was either this or not being able to be with their families," says Sanford.

The communities also likely had access to tools that had been left behind by the indigenous tribes who lived in the area, according to Sanford. She says while they don't believe indigenous tribes lived in the swamp itself, they likely hunted there and left behind items the resourceful Maroon Colonies were able to use.

"There were also sympathetic people outside the swamp who would help them, so they were able to trade for some things as well," says Sanford.

Archeological digs have revealed some small artifacts from the Maroon Colonies, according to Sanford – tiny, precious remnants of communities that lived in secret, lived simply and left little behind.

They lived in one of the most treacherous and difficult places in the state – but they lived in freedom.

WRAL's Hidden Historian Heather Leah is a seventh-generation North Carolinian with a passion for preserving the state's culture and history. Listen as WRAL's Amanda Lamb and Heather Leah share more in-depth stories from the Great Dismal Swamp and the Underground Railroad our latest podcast.

In our Following the Underground Railroad series, we show you multiple places across the state you can visit to touch tangible remnants of the Underground Railroad.

False-bottom wagon: Look inside this 200-year-old hiding space for escaping slavery

Tunnels, jails and canals: Remnants of the Underground Railroad still exist in Halifax County

Untouched old-growth forest holds 'Underground Railroad Tree' from the 1700s

Swamps and secret codes: Old 1800's shipyard holds stories from the Underground Railroad