Gates County Dismal Swamp Records Project, 1847-1861

The purpose of the Gates County Dismal Swamp Records Project dataset is to make available information related to the enslaved and free people of color from northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia who worked in the portion of the Great Dismal Swamp located within Gates County, North Carolina. The Dismal Swamp was the home to many maroons, or self-emancipated people of color who built their own communities outside of traditional society. While these maroons resided in the heart of the swamp, enslaved and free workers toiled at its fringes, cutting canal paths and making shingles under the orders of white overseers and companies. In order to prevent runaways, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law in 1847 requiring all free/enslaved people of color to be registered at the courthouse and issued a pass before entering the swamp for work. Because of this law, Gates County created a register book, which contains about 750 entries registering free/enslaved people to work in the swamp, with each entry including detailed information about the worker, including their age, height, weight, enslaver/person they were bound to, and a physical description including a comprehensive description of any scars or marks found on their bodies.