The secret society of the Great Dismal Swamp - Dan Sayers episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 10, 2026 · 8 MIN

The secret society of the Great Dismal Swamp - Dan Sayers

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Uncover the history of the hidden communities that inhabited the Great Dismal Swamp in North America. --Straddling Virginia and North Carolina is an area that was once described as the “most repulsive of American possessions.” By 1728, it was known as the Great Dismal Swamp. But while many deemed it uninhabitable, recent findings suggest that a hidden society persisted in the Swamp until the mid-1800’s. So, who lived there? And what happened to them? Dan Sayers uncovers a lost civilization.Lesson by Dan Sayers, directed by Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-secret-society-of-the-great-dismal-swamp-dan-sayersDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-secret-society-of-the-great-dismal-swamp-dan-sayers#digdeeperAnimator's website: http://www.tomatico.net----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Sunny Patel, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg, Kack-Kyun Kim, Michael Braun-Boghos, Ken, zjweele13, Jurjen Geleijn, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Elena Crescia, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea, Aaron Henson, Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Ever Granada, Mikhail Shkirev, Brian Richards, Cindy O., Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carolyn Corwin, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Côme Vincent, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Samantha Chow, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique 'Sorín' Cassús, Lyn-z Schulte, Elaine Fitzpatrick, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr. and Clarissa Bartolini-Toro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uncover the history of the hidden communities that inhabited the Great Dismal Swamp in North America. --Straddling Virginia and North Carolina is an area that was once described as the “most repulsive of American possessions.” By 1728, it was known as the Great Dismal Swamp. But while many deemed it uninhabitable, recent findings suggest that a hidden society persisted in the Swamp until the mid-1800’s. So, who lived there? And what happened to them? Dan Sayers uncovers a lost civilization.Lesson by Dan Sayers, directed by Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-secret-society-of-the-great-dismal-swamp-dan-sayersDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-secret-society-of-the-great-dismal-swamp-dan-sayers#digdeeperAnimator's website: http://www.tomatico.net----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Sunny Patel, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg, Kack-Kyun Kim, Michael Braun-Boghos, Ken, zjweele13, Jurjen Geleijn, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Elena Crescia, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea, Aaron Henson, Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Ever Granada, Mikhail Shkirev, Brian Richards, Cindy O., Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carolyn Corwin, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Côme Vincent, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Samantha Chow, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique 'Sorín' Cassús, Lyn-z Schulte, Elaine Fitzpatrick, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr. and Clarissa Bartolini-Toro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The secret society of the Great Dismal Swamp - Dan Sayers

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Uncover the history of the hidden communities that inhabited the Great Dismal Swamp in North America. --Straddling Virginia and North Carolina is an area that was once described as the “most repulsive of American possessions.” By 1728, it was known...

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