Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Lake Drummond is a freshwater lake at the center of the Great Dismal Swamp, a marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in the United States. Its surface area is approximately 3,142 acres (13 km2) and its maximum depth is 6 ft (2 m). It is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Geologists believe the Great Dismal Swamp was formed when the continental shelf experienced sudden settling. The entire swamp is underlain by a layer of peat. Several theories exist about the lake's origin. Some postulate that it was created by a large underground peat fire 3,500–6,000 years ago. Native American legends speak of "the fire bird" creating Lake Drummond. Other theories include a meteorite impact and a tectonic shift. Lake Drummond is one of only two natural freshwater lakes in Virginia. The other, Mountain Lake in Giles County, is also of unknown origin. Curiously, both are lakes essentially on top of hills. Drummond is the highest point in the Dismal Swamp, with nine small ditches flowing out of it. The precise time of the Great Dismal Swamp's discovery and settlement is not known, but archaeological evidence indicates human occupation began nearly 13,000 years ago. By 1650, few Native Americans remained in the area, and European settlers showed little interest in the swamp. In 1665, William Drummond, a future governor of North Carolina, found the lake which now bears his name. Several centuries of exploitation and logging reduced the swamp to about 50% of its original size. It was common practice for merchant ships of the time to fill up water casks with the dark-stained water from Lake Drummond. With its high tannin content, the water stayed fresher longer on trans-Atlantic voyages than water from other sources. Lake Drummond and much of the Great Dismal Swamp are within the bounds of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, officially established through the Dismal Swamp Act of 1974. The refuge includes almost 107,000 acres (43,000 ha) of forest wetlands. North Carolina established a state park to protect another portion of the swamp. Dismal Swamp State Park protects 22 square miles (57 km2) of forested wetland.Due to relatively low pH levels caused by the leaching of acidic materials from surrounding peat soils, the lake has a relatively low level of nutrients. A few species of fish are present, including crappie, bowfin, and longnose gar.

The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of the southern Virginia independent cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk and northern North Carolina counties of Gates, Pasquotank, and Camden. Some estimates place the original size of the swamp at over one million acres (4,000 km2). As of 2022 the size of the Great Dismal Swamp is around 750 square miles (480,000 acres) (1,940 square km). Lake Drummond, a 3,100-acre (13 km2) natural lake, is located in the heart of the swamp. Lake Drummond is a circular body of water, and is one of only two naturally occurring freshwater lakes in Virginia. Along the Great Dismal Swamp's eastern edge runs the Dismal Swamp Canal. The canal is 22 miles long, and was completed in 1805 to provide a pathway for trade between Chesapeake Bay, Virginia and the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. The largest water supply for the Dismal Swamp Canal is through Lake Drummond.The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1973 when the Union Camp Corporation of Franklin, Virginia, donated 49,100 acres (19,900 ha) of land after centuries of logging and other human activities devastated the swamp's ecosystems. The refuge was officially established through the Dismal Swamp Act of 1974, and consists of over 167 square miles (433 square km) of forested wetlands. Outside the boundaries of the refuge, the state of North Carolina has preserved and protected additional portions of the swamp through the establishment of the Dismal Swamp State Park. That park protects 22 square miles (57 km2) of forested wetland.The swamp was a refuge location for the Great Dismal Swamp maroons, including enslaved people in the Southern states before the American Civil War, and Native Americans who were escaping colonial expansion. Prior to the maroons inhabiting the swamp, it was inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Native American coastal tribes. A 45,611-acre (184.58 km2) remnant of the original swamp was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1973, in recognition of its unique combination of geological and ecological features.

The Dismal Swamp Canal is a canal located along the eastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina in the United States. Opened in 1805, it is the oldest continually operating man-made canal in the United States. It is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Wallaceton is a historic home located at Chesapeake, Virginia. The original section was built between 1853 and 1863, as a company store. It was expanded after the American Civil War. It is a 1+1⁄2-story, rectangular, Greek Revival style frame dwelling. It has flat corner pilasters, a heavy box cornice under the eaves, and a full width front porch. Also on the property are a contributing two-room kitchen building and a dairy. About 1910, it was relocated approximately 100 feet to the east of the Dismal Swamp Canal to remove it from canal property. It was named for John Gallaudet Wallace (1840-1910) a farmer and businessman who fought in the Civil War for the Confederacy, as a Captain of Company C, 61st Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Dismal Swamp State Park is a North Carolina state park in Camden County, North Carolina, in the United States. The park was created as a state natural area in 1974 with the help of The Nature Conservancy, and on July 28, 2007, the North Carolina General Assembly re-designated it as a state park. It opened to the public in 2008. This marked the first time that public access to Great Dismal Swamp was made possible in North Carolina. The park covers 14,432 acres (58.40 km2) of protected land on the North Carolina/Virginia border. Park offices are 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the border on U.S. Route 17 near South Mills. Features of the park include the canal which is used regularly by boaters using the Intracoastal Waterway and several miles of hiking and biking trails.

Cornland School is a one-room schoolhouse located in Chesapeake, Virginia. "It is believed to be the oldest pre-Rosenwald School still standing in Tidewater Virginia." It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

Cavalier Wildlife Management Area is a 4,550-acre (18.4 km2) Wildlife Management Area in Chesapeake, Virginia. It preserves habitat for a number of species, including black bear, canebrake rattlesnakes, white-tailed deer, eastern wild turkeys, and many varieties of songbirds.The preserve comprises two separate tracts of land. The 3,800-acre (15 km2) main tract is located about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and adjacent to the Virginia–North Carolina border; it was once a part of the Great Dismal Swamp but was drained more than 200 years ago. The main tract today is typified by recently logged forestlands planted with young pine. A smaller, 758-acre (3.07 km2) tract lies about six miles (9.7 km) north of the main area of land, immediately adjacent to the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.The area is open to the public for seasonal hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking, and primitive camping. Firearms are prohibited in the Dismal Swamp tract, where only bow-hunting is permitted; firearms may be used for hunting within the main tract. Neither area permits horseback riding.Cavalier Wildlife Management Area is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Access for persons 17 years of age or older requires a valid hunting or fishing permit, or a WMA access permit.

The Great Dismal Swamp train derailment occurred on the afternoon of May 18, 1986, when a special Norfolk Southern employee passenger train derailed at the Great Dismal Swamp near Suffolk, Virginia. The accident injured 177 passengers; 18 were seriously injured and needed to be airlifted to nearby hospitals in Norfolk, Virginia. The train was pulled by Norfolk and Western 611, a class J 4-8-4 steam locomotive, which was restored to operating condition for excursion service in 1982.

Suffolk Executive Airport (ICAO: KSFQ, FAA LID: SFQ) is a general aviation airport located in Suffolk, Virginia. The airport is owned by the City of Suffolk and is located at 1200 Gene Bolton Drive, approximately 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) southwest of Downtown Suffolk. The airport is also the site of Skydive Suffolk and the annual Suffolk Peanut Fest.

East Suffolk Complex is a historic school complex for African-American students located at Suffolk, Virginia. The complex consists of the East Suffolk Elementary School (1926–1927), East Suffolk High School (1938–1939), and the Gymnasium building (1951).

The Battle of Suffolk, also known as the Battle of Hill's Point and the Battle of Fort Huger, took place from April 11 to May 4, 1863, as part of the Siege of Suffolk, during the American Civil War.

Norfolk County was a county of the South Hampton Roads in eastern Virginia in the United States that was created in 1691. After the American Civil War, for a period of about 100 years, portions of Norfolk County were lost and the territory of the county reduced as they were annexed by the independent and growing cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and South Norfolk. In 1963, voters approved by referendum in two jurisdictions to consolidate the remaining portions of Norfolk County with the much smaller city of South Norfolk; they chose the name city of Chesapeake for the new independent city. Although organized as a city, and one of the larger in Virginia, Chesapeake has both busy suburban and industrial areas, and mostly rural sections. The latter includes a large portion of the Great Dismal Swamp and large tracts of preserved forest land.