[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF PAULDING COUNTY'S 200TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. ROBERT E. LATTA

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 2020

  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the Bicentennial 
of Paulding County, Ohio, the last frontier to be settled in our great 
state. Our country was founded because of the brave pioneers who 
ventured into the Great Outdoors in order to create a better life for 
future settlers.
  In 1819, Captain James Riley and his surveyors trudged through the 
mosquito infested Great Black Swamp to lay out the township lines for 
what would later become Paulding County.
  The Great Black Swamp covered more than 1,500 square miles. It was 
created more than 10,000 years ago after the glaciers receded and 
formed the Great Lakes. From the surveyor's notes, we know that the 
Ottawa and Shawnee Indian tribes inhabited this land of deciduous swamp 
forest. The giant oaks, hickory, elm, ash, and many other large tree 
species created a dense canopy, which blocked sunlight from reaching 
the forest floor. The dense forest and mucky conditions made settlement 
of the area extremely difficult as Paulding County, in its entirety, 
laid beneath the swamp. The landscape required drastic alterations 
before settlers were able to make Paulding County into the flat, 
agriculturally rich region that it is today.
  In 1820, this area was named Paulding County in honor of John 
Paulding, an American hero during the American Revolution who aided in 
the capture of Major John Andre, a British spy who was the co-
conspirator of Benedict Arnold.
  The celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Paulding County reminds 
our community of the determination and pioneering attitude upon which 
counties throughout Ohio and our country were founded. Congratulations 
to Paulding County on this significant milestone.

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