Zekiah Swamp is part of the Potomac River basin in Charles County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

in the United States. The swamp is of braided stream stretching the length of Charles County and is a tributary of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

. It sits at an elevation of and of its southern end is protected as the Zekiah Swamp Natural Environment Area. The

Maryland Department of Natural Resources The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. I ...

has the authority to purchase an additional for the park. Charles County has moved to protect an additional of the wetland. The headwaters of the swamp are protected as part of

Cedarville State Forest Cedarville State Forest () is a state forest and protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of prot ...

. It was first accurately surveyed by

John Henry Alexander John Henry Alexander (June 26, 1812 – March 2, 1867) was a noted scientist, civil engineer and businessman. Personal life Alexander was born in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 26, 1812. The youngest child of William and Mary (Harwood Stockett) ...

, Maryland's official cartographer, in 1835, as "Allen's Fresh".

History

Maryland was formed as an English colony in 1634. One of the original

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...

, the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British Empire, British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in American Revolution, rebellion ag ...

was established by Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore as a haven for

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Englishmen. Much of Zekiah Swamp is now thickly wooded and very swampy, but during the colonial period it was a center of activity for the growing colony. A courthouse was built in 1674 and archaeologists believe they have found the location of a "summer house" constructed by colonial governor

Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore (August 27, 1637 – February 21, 1715), inherited the colony of Maryland in 1675 upon the death of his father, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, (1605–1675). He had been his father's Deputy Governor sin ...

. Archaeologists have searched for a fort built in 1680 to resettle a group of "friendly"

Piscataway Indians The Piscataway or Piscatawa , are Native Americans. They spoke Algonquian Piscataway, a dialect of Nanticoke. One of their neighboring tribes, with whom they merged after a massive decline of population following two centuries of interaction ...

. The courthouse was built in 1674 at Moore's Lodge. It served as the Charles County courthouse until 1727 when the county government was moved to

Port Tobacco Port Tobacco, officially Port Tobacco Village, is a town in Charles County, in southern Maryland, United States. The population was 13 at the 2010 census, making Port Tobacco the smallest incorporated town in Maryland. Overview This was historical ...

. Early maps included a drawing of the courthouse. The drawing has allowed historians to know exactly what it looked like despite being unable to find its precise location for many years. Allens fresh zekiah

Charles Calvert, son of Maryland's founding governor Cecil Calvert, built a home in the area in 1674. The home known as ''His Lordship's Favor'' as a summer home and as a retreat from his "political enemies" at the colonial

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

at Mattapany which is now part of

Patuxent Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Sys ...

. Calvert intended to build a brick home rather than the usual wooden structure built by colonists in the area. He had to settle for a wooden home, but did build a brick chimney. Archaeologists found what they believe to be the site of the home, but have not found any artifacts that can be dated back to the 1670s. It is speculated that Calvert never actually occupied the home. Charles Calvert was forced to flee Maryland in 1684 in the aftermath of conflicts between colonists from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

and Maryland. In 2011, archaeologists identified the location of a 1680 fort that was built to protect the "friendly" Piscataways from the "hostile"

Susquehannock The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern pa ...

. The Piscataway lived at the fort for about 12 years and enjoyed a working relationship with English colonists during that time. After assassinating Abraham Lincoln in April 1865, John Wilkes Booth fled to southern Maryland, toward Zekiah Swamp. Booth entered the swamp after treatment by Dr.

Samuel Mudd Samuel Alexander Mudd Sr. (December 20, 1833 – January 10, 1883) was an American physician who was imprisoned for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth concerning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Mudd worked as a doctor and tobacco far ...

for the broken leg he suffered escaping Ford's Theater. A black tobacco farmer guided Booth and his co-conspirator David Herold through the swamp to the

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...

of a Confederate sympathizer, Samuel Cox. Cox led Booth and Herold to Thomas A. Jones who helped them the rest of the way through the Zekiah Swamp and across the Potomac River to Virginia.

Ecology

Zekiah Swamp is a greenway. Greenways are often long, narrow strips of undeveloped land that are surrounded by urban,

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

an or

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

development. A tributary of the

, the swamp is of braided stream, stretching the length of Charles County. Zekiah Swamp Run begins in Cedarville State Forest near Charles County's border with

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ...

. It passes through two parcels of privately owned, but undeveloped land, to Zekiah Swamp Natural Environment Area where it empties into the Wicomico. Maryland is home to a wide array of ecological habitats, ranging from

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a ...

s and beaches, to saltwater

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environme ...

, coastal plains and the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

. It is estimated that prior to European settlement that the state was 95% forested with the remaining 5% being

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...

lands. Most of the forests and marshes have since been destroyed by development. Zekiah Swamp Natural Environment Area is one of the few places in Charles County to be undisturbed. Moves to protect all of the swamp have been taken by the Maryland state government and the Charles County government. Zekiah Swamp is the largest

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

swamp in Maryland. It is considered to be one of the "most important ecological areas on the East Coast" by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

. Sediment buildup in the Potomac and

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

will be slowed or prevented by the protection of plant life in the swamps. The plants work to absorb much of the

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

that would otherwise pollute the waters.

Recreational use

Although the Zekiah Swamp Natural Environment Area is primarily owned by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, it isn't managed for recreation. As a result, there are no paved public access roads, parking areas, or scenic overlooks. Nor are there marked or developed trails, picnic areas, campsites, or visitor's centers. Nonetheless, a limited level of recreational use is still possible. In connection with its Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail system, the U.S. National Park Service notes that access is possible by way of the intersection of U.S. Highway 301 and SR 234 (Budds Creek Road). Traveling east from that point on SR 234, one comes to Penn's Hill Road/Allen’s Fresh Road. Following Allen's Fresh Road south at mile 23.2, there is a dirt road on the west side that leads through the swamp and woods to Allen's Fresh Run of the Wicomico River. This is suitable for driving or walking.''Potomac Heritage: National Scenic Trail DC, MD, PA, VA''
"Southern Maryland Hike 3."
/ref> Other sight-seeing or photo opportunities are possible with brief stops along the shoulder of SR 234 where it passes through the Natural Environment Area. Similar possibilities exist to the north on SR 6 (Charles Street) that runs between La Plata and Charlotte Hall.

References

{{Protected areas of Maryland Protected areas of Charles County, Maryland Potomac River watershed Nature reserves in Maryland Swamps of Maryland Landforms of Charles County, Maryland