According to Wikipedia, the city was "reputedly" named in acknowledgement of "the Peruvian capital which, during the 1800s, was a major source of quinine, an anti–malaria drug for which there had been a demand in the region, an area known as the Great Black Swamp."
The swamp was about 25 miles wide (north to south) and 100 miles long, covering an estimated 1,500 square miles. Gradually drained and settled in the second half of the 19th century, it is now highly productive farmland. However, this development has been detrimental to the ecosystem as a result of agricultural runoff, which has contributed to frequent toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie.
© Haydn Thompson 2021