Unearthing the Land: The Story Of Ohio’s Scioto Marsh by Tom Rumer (review)

mim Rumer. Unearthing the Limit: The Story Of Ohic)' s R·icitc,Mcirsh. Akron: University fil Aki·( in Press, 1999. 279 pp. ISBN: 1884836526 ( paper|. 311.99. Tom Rumer seeks to present his readers with a li,cal history of the Scioto Marsh in () hic,. The historic 111, 1 1·sh Idi· nined rit the turn of the century) is located between Lim: i and Mai' icm in the west-cent,·: 11 regicin of the state. Runier views the history of tile are: l thi· tiugh the lens of envinmmental history. He also provides his reader with a detailed acc unt of the individuals wh,· ics of his oral sources. Written As a local history, this is ain excellent hnse for the book. As a case study, however, therc ci, uld he more dc, cumentaticm Eind : i larger variety of soul·ccs tying the work to a greater whole. The author pursues two goals with this book. First, Rumer has written an effective and complete local histi)ry. Ie looks it many nispects of the area's society, including class and regional identity, ccinsiders its risc and hill, and discusses the environmental basis for the community: s survival . Secondly, the author creates a case study for com. parison that will allow either environmental historians to piece IC) gether a larger picture. () f the two pulp() ses, 1261]nci is more successful with the fcrmer. Anyone interested iii westcentral Ohio will be delighted with the hook. Environmental historians Will also find much useful informarion in Rumer' s work. The difficulty comes in relating this hook to the extant historic,graphy. Rumer does considcr how environmentalists have historically vieweil the drainage of marshes for agriculture but he leaves the connection to other histi,ric; 11 works to the reader. David Benac Universitj' of Missouri. Columbia Ohio Valley History 48 ...