After an absence of likely over 300 years Colonial Spanish hogs have returned to Isle of Wight County. A pair of young Ossabaw hogs recently joined the Colonial Spanish horses and colonial era goats and chickens at Mill Swamp Indian Horses outside of Smithfield on Moonlight Road. The hogs will be bred in a fenced in pine forest and a few will be kept in the replica 1650's era farm site constructed in the horse pastures.

These Ossabaws are from a line of heritage breed pigs raised today at Mount Vernon. A handful of small breeders across the nation work to prevent their extinction. Along with the Mulefoot and Choctaw hogs, the Ossabaws are listed by The Livestock Conservancy as one of only three
breeds to be so rare as to be listed as "critically" endangered.

Ossabaws are prized for their flavor. Their meat is dark and often marbled like beef. Although they will be bred and raised for distribution to other preservation breeders, their primary focus will be educational.