Asters at Port Oneida

By Kristin Hurlin

The Port Oneida area is blessed with a high water table that sits on a clay deposit. This creates the wetlands and is why wildflowers are so abundant here. Well, they once were abundant before the park began mowing them down to create the fake farms. Seen in this drawing are smooth asters, two kinds of goldenrod, horsetail, milkweed and roses. Other flowers that used to flourish in mowed areas are sweet peas, purple vetch, bouncing bet, coreopsis, black eye susan, st. johnswort, three kinds of clover (white, yellow and red), queen ann’s lace, depford pinks, various asters, northern dewberries, raspberries, blackberries, wild grapes, ground cherries, blanket flowers, and many others. The planted pine forest shown in the art has grown so tall, you cannot see this view any longer. Port Oneida is one of the most beautiful areas of the national park, and includes ancient apple trees planted by Native Americans before the white settlers forced them off their small farms.