Horicon Marsh is a
marsh located in northern
Dodge and southern
Fond du Lac counties of
Wisconsin. It is the site of both a
national and a state
wildlife refuge. The silted-up glacial lake is the largest freshwater
cattail marsh in the United States.[3]
Geological history
Horicon Marsh was created by the Green Bay lobe of the
Wisconsin glaciation during the
Pleistocene era. The
glacier, during its advance, created many
drumlins (a
glacial landform) in the region, many of which have become the islands of Horicon Marsh. The marsh and surrounding Dodge County have the highest concentration of drumlins in the world.
During the glacier's retreat, a
moraine was created, forming a natural
dam holding back the waters from the melting glacier and forming Glacial Lake Horicon. The
Rock River slowly eroded the moraine, and the lake drained. As the levels of
silt,
clay and
peat accumulated in the former lake's basin, the Horicon Marsh was formed.
The Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area is one of nine units of the
Ice Age National Scientific Reserve system, being considered to contain unique, representative evidence of the Ice Age of the Pleistocene era.[4]
Inhabited history
The Horicon Marsh area has been inhabited by humans, including the
Paleo-Indians, the
Hopewellian people and the
Mound Builders, since the ending of the last Ice Age. Dozens of 1200-year-old
effigy mounds were built by the Mound Builders in the surrounding low ridges.[3] Arrowheads have been found dating to 12,000 years ago. Later the region was inhabited by the
Potawotomi, primarily to the east of the marsh, and the
Ho-Chunk to the west. Seven well-traveled Native American foot trails met at the southern end of the marsh at the present location of
Horicon.
When
Europeans first arrived in the area, they named the marsh "The Great Marsh of the Winnebagos". The first permanent modern settlement along the marsh was the town of
Horicon. In 1846, a
dam was built to power the town's first
sawmill. The dam held the water in the marsh, causing the water level to rise by nine feet. The "marsh" was called Lake Horicon, and was, at the time, called the largest man-made lake in the world.[citation needed]
In 1869, the dam was torn down by order of the State Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of landowners whose land had been flooded.[5] The area became a marsh once more. In 1883, two sportsmen's clubs reported huge flocks of geese in the marsh, and stated that 500,000 ducks hatched annually, and 30,000 muskrats and mink were trapped in the southern half of the marsh.[6] Both
birds and
hunters flocked to the area, and the local
duck population was devastated. From 1910 to 1914, an attempt was made to drain the marsh and convert it into farmland; these attempts failed, and afterwards the land was widely considered to be useless.[7] In November 1933, an accidentally caused wildfire would destroy much of Horicon Marsh; necessitating a restoration project.[8] It was re-opened to the public in April 1935.[9]
Horicon National Wildlife Refuge
In 1927, the
Wisconsin State Legislature, after pressure from
conservationists beginning in 1921, passed the Horicon Marsh Wildlife Refuge Bill, providing for the construction of a dam to raise the water to normal levels and for the acquisition of the land by the government. During the 1940s, the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service bought the northern portions of the marsh.[10] Today the northern two-thirds, approximately 21,400 acres (87 km2), forms the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. It is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Presently, the marsh is 32,000 acres (130 km2) in area, most of it open water and
cattail marsh. The southern third, approximately 11,000 acres (45 km2), is owned by the state of Wisconsin and forms the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area, which was established as a nesting area for
waterfowl and resting area for
migratory birds. It is managed by the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Millions of waterfowl, including over 200,000
Canada geese, migrate through the marsh.[3]
Horicon Marsh was designated a
Ramsar site on December 4, 1990.[11]
Miscellaneous
In 1976, the brass band of
Walden III Middle and High School in
Racine, Wisconsin was named the Horicon Horns Band after school co-founder and co-Director Jackson Parker compared the new band's sound to the honking of geese at Horicon Marsh. The band would improve greatly over the years, and went on to become a staple of musical entertainment in Racine, even performing at the state capital for
Kimberly Plache and at
Disneyworld.
Drumlins around Horicon Marsh, Dec. 2016. The
Rock River may be seen draining
Sinissippi Lake, with
Hustisford gallery visible at the latter's southern edge
Marsh Haven Nature Center is a 46-acre, non-profit, volunteer-supported visitor's center and park just across Hwy 49 from the northern edge of the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. It is open to the public and has educational programs, picnic areas, and hiking trails. While not part of the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge or the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area, it is dedicated to the conservation and preservation of the same natural resources.