The Wool Swamp with the Racist Name?

archieclement

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Was reading about Jeff Thompson and his "swamp rats" and an account has him operating in the "Mingo and 'N-word'-Wool Swamps", I hadn't ever heard of it so tried to look it up and find conflicting descriptions. Apparently the swamp was drained around the turn of the century and is now farmland.

One account had it a swamp along a river in the township of one county, another described it a massive swamp covering 6 counties, any locals have any insight?
 
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Was reading about Jeff Thompson and his "swamp rats" and an account has him operating in the "Mingo and 'N-word'-Wool Swamps", I hadn't ever heard of it so tried to look it up and find conflicting descriptions. Apparently the swamp was drained around the turn of the century and is now farmland.

One account had it a swamp along a river in the township of one county, another described it a massive swamp covering 6 counties, any locals have any insight?

From digging around a bit I suspect it was the substantial account running south from Cape Girardeau to New Madrid, but if anyone in the area has info more definite, please share
 
I assume this swamp was part of it... from wiki

The Mingo National Wildlife Refuge is a 21,676-acre (87.7-km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in northwestern Stoddard and southeastern Wayne counties in Missouri. Its southwesternmost portion lies on the shores of Lake Wappapello. Named after the Mingo tribe, it was established to preserve bottomland hardwoods and provide waterfowl and other migratory birds in the Mississippi Flyway with nesting, feeding, brooding, and resting habitat.

MINGO SWAMP, MISSOURI: Deep in the boot-heel country of southeast Missouri, just 80 miles south of St. Louis and 40 miles west of the Mississippi River, is a sprawling depression ringed by rolling hills and limestone bluffs. Covering some 16,000 acres of the 21,676-acre Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Mingo Swamp is the kind of place in which Huck Finn might have gotten lost.

https://www.adventuresportsnetwork.com/sport/paddle-sports/canoe-kayak/mingo-swamp-missouri/


The other swamp got renamed and then it got lost... from wiki...

Negrowool Swamp was a swamp in Pemiscot County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The precise location of the swamp is unknown to the GNIS.[1]
The swamp was formerly called "******wool Swamp".[2] The swamp was so named because the thick grass was likened to African-American hair.
[3]

Here is a list of swamps in Missouri and its still lost... I think you will have to call the county to find the location... lol

https://itouchmap.com/?s=MO&f=swamp


Here is a county map of Missouri Mingo swamp is Northwest of New Madrid and ( The Lost) Negrowool swamp is South of New Madrid... based on counties...

Link to map: https://geology.com/county-map/missouri.shtml
 
Was reading about Jeff Thompson and his "swamp rats" and an account has him operating in the "Mingo and 'N-word'-Wool Swamps",

I do not know if anyone knows where this swamp is?

http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/mocwmb/arch_config.pl?md=read;id=4223

From Mayme Lucille Hamlett, A.B., B. S. "Place Names of Six
Southeast Missouri Counties" Thesis Univ. Missouri 1938
Pg 129 is: ******wool Swamp (Pemiscot) An area of low swampy land in the e. part of Braggadocio T. in the overflow region of Little River. It was named from the colloquial expression: "The grass is as thick as ****** wool." Louis Houck says that J. H. Morley, superintendent of the I. M. RR in 1852, first used the derisive term when he had difficulty in securing the right of way for his road through the swamps.
 


http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/mocwmb/arch_config.pl?md=read;id=4109

Theres sources saying it was much larger, which I'm leaning towards as it would make more sense if Mingo and it were comparable in size, and have at least two accounts of it covering 5-6 counties from the Cape to New Madrid

Its funny it was renamed after I suspect it no longer existed, one of the reasons for lack of info on it was it was drained around 1910 and is all rich farmland today
 
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From Mayme Lucille Hamlett, A.B., B. S. "Place Names of Six
Southeast Missouri Counties" Thesis Univ. Missouri 1938
Pg 129 is: ******wool Swamp (Pemiscot) An area of low swampy land in the e. part of Braggadocio T. in the overflow region of Little River. It was named from the colloquial expression: "The grass is as thick as ****** wool." Louis Houck says that J. H. Morley, superintendent of the I. M. RR in 1852, first used the derisive term when he had difficulty in securing the right of way for his road through the swamps.

I found the original quote: I think you may be right that most of the swamp was drained away...

Theres sources saying it was much larger,

Place name:Niggwool SwampDescription:An area of low, swampy land in the eastern part of Braggadocio Township in the overflow region of Little River. It was named from the colloquial expression, "The grass is as thick as nigg (Negro) wool." Louis Houck says that J.H. Morley, superintendent of the Iron Mountain Railroad in 1852, first used the derisive term when he had difficulty in securing the right-of-way for his road through the swamps. (Hamlett, Houck Mss.)Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.

I pulled up braggadocio Township and seems to be no swamps east of it. I guess finding an old map of the Pemiscot county lets say before 1910 to find the swamp and it original size... Here's a question how can you tail when one swamp end and another starts... There an East Swamp that runs along the Mississippi River in that part of Eastern Missouri near New Madrid...

https://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_pemiscot.html
 
The account above says Mingo and Negrowool were separated by Crowleys Ridge

Crowleys_Ridge_relief_v1.jpg

My theory is Negrowool would have covered much of the Mississippi River natural floodplain, so the river could be levied and the swamp drained, Mingo not so much as its landlocked by the ridge so it still exists in parts, much like reelfoot lake across the river.

Was hoping some locals would have insight, MoFederal is from Cape but hasn't been on often
 
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