ARCHBOLD, OHIO: The Goll family’s Big Woods are a major natural feature in northwest Ohio.
The Big Woods are now part of Goll Woods State Nature Preserve in western Fulton County between Toledo and the Ohio-Indiana state line.
It is a dark, swampy, buggy 320.6-acre preserve filled with big numbers of big trees: giant bur oaks and exceptionally large white oaks, chinquapin oaks and cottonwoods, many of which are 4 feet in diameter and up to 120 feet tall. Some of the trees are more than 20 feet in circumference.
The trees at Goll Woods are from 200 to 400 years old and one giant oak is estimated to be 500 years old.
It is a cathedral of big trees, old-growth forest that is rare in Ohio. It is a National Natural Landmark.
It is among a handful of big tree spots in Ohio: Dysart Woods in Belmont County, Johnson Woods in Wayne County, Hueston Woods in Butler-Preble counties, Fowler Woods in Richland County and Mohican State Forest in Ashland County.
Goll Woods is a little off the beaten path, but it is a special natural place. It may be the least-disturbed woodland remaining in northwest Ohio, a swamp forest surrounded by very flat farmland that extends in all directions.
It is a relic of the Great Black Swamp that once covered parts of Ohio and Indiana. It was a poorly drained area and one of the last areas of Ohio to be settled. It was filled with wolves, cougars, bobcats, black bears and elk. It stretched 120 miles by 40 miles in 12 counties in what’s now Ohio and Indiana.
Today Goll Woods is an isolated island of huge trees with wild turkey and white-tailed deer in German Township. The preserve includes 80 acres of virgin forest, the Goll family’s Big Woods.
Peter F. Goll originally acquired land in 1836 for $1.25 an acre. He came to northwest Ohio with his wife, Catherine, and son Peter Jr. from Dobs, France.
At that time, the forest was described as “dense throughout the whole area; it was tall and the whole of an extremely vigorous growth,” the state says in a brochure.
The family farm grew to 600 acres and the big trees were safe through five generations, though a few were selectively cut to aid the American effort in World War I.
In 1966, the state acquired the land from Goll’s great-granddaughter, Florence Louys. The nature preserve was dedicated in 1975.
The best way to explore Goll Woods is to hike the 1-mile Bur Oak Trail through the East Woods, the preserve’s nature trail. There are 22 stops and a 36-page booklet describes what you are seeing.
The preserve has three trails that stretch 4¼ miles and offer loop options. They are easy to follow and hike.
There is a kiosk at one of the preserve’s two trailheads.
Be warned that the preserve can be filled with lots of hungry mosquitoes because of the swampy conditions. Even the state suggests visiting in the winter and early spring before the leaves come out and the bugs return. Or you can visit in the fall after the first frost and be safe.
Sadly, the giant trees are starting to disappear. They are being toppled by winds, lightning and storms, the hulking trunks lying on the ground and rotting away to feed future forests.
Giant American elms on the preserve have succumbed to disease. But there are still very tall tulip trees. The big bur oaks with their thick, furrowed bark and stiff, gnarled branches that begin 60 feet off the ground are easy to identify. It is also home to the largest black ash and rock elm trees in Ohio.
The preserve features four types of forest, depending on soil and drainage conditions. Wetter conditions favor elms and ashes. Drier conditions are suitable for beech and maples.
The wetlands that created the Big Trees are shrinking because the water table is being lowered. The land has been drained for 150 years by local farmers.
The preserve includes a mature pine plantation from the 1960s and the Goll family’s pioneer cemetery.
Goll Woods is also known as one of the best places to view spring wildflowers in April and May. Its unusual offerings include the spotted coral-root and the three birds orchid. You will also find the green trillium (toadshade), bloodroot, columbine, toothwort, phlox, Dutchman’s breeches, jewelweed, wood anemone, miterwort and black-eyed Susan. The preserve is rich with frogs, salamander and insects.
Goll Woods is located northwest of Archbold, west of state route 66. The west side sits next to the Tiffin River. It is about 2 hours and 45 minutes from Akron.
There are two parking lots to serve the preserve: one in the middle off Township Road 26 and one on the west side off Township Road F. For more information, call 419-445-1775 or 614-265-6453 or go to www.ohiodnr.com.
Another place in Ohio to see old-growth forest with its giants is Dysart Woods in eastern Ohio. The 455-acre tract is the largest known remnant of old-growth oak forest in southeast Ohio, the state’s largest virgin forest and a National Natural Landmark.
About 50 to 60 of the giants are still standing in the Appalachian foothills. They are up to 140 feet tall, 4 feet in diameter and 300 to 400 years old. Many have died and toppled.
It’s hard not to be impressed by the giants in the hilly preserve about five miles south of Belmont in Smith Township. That’s about 20 miles west of Wheeling, W. Va., and about two hours from Akron.
There are two trails — the 0.8-mile Red on the west and the 0.9-mile Blue on the east. Both begin and end at a grassy parking lot.
Ohio University owns and manages the preserve under an agreement with the Nature Conservancy, a national land conservation group. The preserve is open from dawn to dusk daily.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.