Save the Bay - Summer 2014

We were relieved to find that instead of alligators, the swamp was full of red-bellied turtles, sunning themselves on fallen trees; dragonflies, flitting amongst lilly pads; and great blue herons, soaring overhead.

Rising up from the swamp are thick bald cypress and their roots. Because wet soil does not provide a lot of stability, this species has adapted by swelling, or buttressing, at the base. The trees have also developed to grow knees, or roots which have turned to grow up out of the water. The knees provide structural support and may even help move oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Bald cypress are native to the area, but they
originally grew in more expansive wet-
lands. In the late 1700s, mill operators
dammed up streams to create Trap Pond.
They installed a spillway to power a saw
mill and harvested many live trees and
some that lay buried in the swamp. Later,
the pond was enlarged by area farmers to
drain bordering farmland,
Farming then became part of the local econ-
omy and the mill was also used to grind
grain. Fruit was the predominant crop in the
late 1800s, but that changed in the 1920s
with the birth of the chicken broiler industry
in nearby Ocean View. Today, Sussex County
produces more chickens than any other
county in the United States.

In 1930, the federal government bought Trap Pond and more than 2,000 surrounding acres. The Civilian Conservation Corps was brought in to make recreational use of the property, and in 1951, Trap Pond became one of Delaware’s first state parks.

Today, the park is beautifully maintained and loaded with amenities like bath houses, laundry facilities, picnic areas, volleyball courts, and horseshoe pits. Activities

Trap Pond State Park, Delaware, at a Glance

n GEOGRAPHY: Trap Pond State Park covers 2,109 acres of southwestern Sussex County.
Mostly wooded, the park includes a 90-acre pond and the northernmost stand of bald
cypress in the country.
n AMENITIES: Kayak, canoe, rowboat, and pedal boat rentals; pontoon boat tours; boat
ramp; nature center; disc golf course; horseshoe pits; volleyball courts; camp sites;
cabin and yurt rentals; hiking and biking trails; bike rentals; camp store; summer
concert series; education programs; fishing.
n CONTACTS:
Trap Pond State Park www.destateparks.com/park/trap-pond/
Nanticoke Museum www.nanticokeindians.org