The Headwaters of Four-Hole Swap

One of the Interlaken Wildlife Centers richest natural features is the headwaters of Four Hole Swamp starts on the northern boundary and flows three-quarters of a mile right through the middle of the property. Four Hole Swamp is a small blackwater river that is a tributary to the Edisto River. After the swamp begins on the Interlaken property in Calhoun County, it flows 62 miles to the confluence. But it all starts at Interlaken.

Four Hole Swamp is classified as a blackwater cypress-tupelo swamp. Cypress and tupelo trees predominate. There are also hickories, maples and ash trees that add to the swamp’s biodiversity.The water is unusually pure and clean but called “blackwater” because tannins leach out of leaves and tree bark and give it a distinctive color like weak ice tea. The river is noteworthy for its unusual braided pattern. Instead of having a single well-defined channel, the swamp has multiple channels that start and then disappear, maintaining a flow sometimes above and sometimes below ground.

The origins of the swamp’s name is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps it is an Anglicized version of earlier Native American words. Perhaps there really were four large holes in the swamp that early settlers discovered but since disappeared. As early as 1782, the name appeared on published maps. On the Interlaken property, numerous Native American artifacts have been found near the swamp.

About 35 miles south of Interlaken in Four Hole Swamp sits Francis Beidler Forest, an 18,000-acre nature preserve containing over 1,800 acres of virgin cypress and tupelo owned and operated by the National Audubon Society. Some trees are over 1500 years old, and the forest is an abundant wildlife sanctuary with a number of rare and endangered species. At least 140 species of birds have been documented in the sanctuary including Prothonotary Warblers and Barred Owls.The Beidler Forest has been recognized as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, a National Natural Landmark, an Important Bird Area, and a historic site of the Underground Railroad.

Further research in the Interlaken portion of Four Hole Swamp will reveal more about its natural and historic character. As in the Beidler Forest, there are likely rare and uncommon species present here to be discovered and identified. The swamp’s breathtaking beauty displays itself as it flows across the Interlaken Wildlife Center property. Its importance as the headwaters of the larger Four Hole Swamp ecosystem needs to be appreciated and protected. Those who visit the Interlaken Wildlife Center can enjoy where Four Hole Swamp begins.