For a brief history of the Class of 1918 Marsh, follow this link:

• Saving the Marsh: An Environmental Success Story

To see 1910s and 1920s historical photographs of the area where the Class of 1918 Marsh is located, see:

• Historical Photographs

Before the sedge meadow was drained, in 1910 Heddle carried out transect surveys of the upland and lowland plants in and around the University Bay area, including the sedge meadow area that is today the playing fields, parking lots (formerly called Lot 60), and the Class of 1918 Marsh.  For a partial list of the 270 plants found by Heddle in these transects of the University Bay area in 1910, before the area was plowed, see:

• Heddle’s 1910 list of wetland and wet prairie plants
• Heddle’s 1910 list of prairie plants
   

The College of Agriculture erected a sign to educate people about the conversion of the "worthless" sedge meadow (marsh) to "profitable" agricultural fields.  To see two versions of the sign and a letter about the origin of the sign, see:

• Marsh Reclamation Signs

Dr. James Zimmerman, the UW Arboretum Naturalist, was instrumental in the restoration of the Class of 1918 Marsh.  He wrote a memo on March 17, 1970, explaining what would be needed in order to restore the marsh and justifying the need to restore a portion of the cornfield to a marsh:

• University Bay Natural Area Management - specifically the former cornfield

Marsh Overview