Big Run is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
of the
South Branch Potomac River, belonging to the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
and
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
watersheds.
Big Run flows through the city of
Romney and the campus of the
West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind
The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (WVSDB) were established by an Act of the Legislature on March 3, 1870. The School for the Deaf and the School for the Blind offer comprehensive educational programs for hearing impaired and vi ...
in
Hampshire County,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
. The stream is known by local residents as Town Run and Town Creek.
Headwaters and course
Big Run rises on the western flanks of
South Branch Mountain to the east of Romney. From its source, the stream parallels the
Northwestern Turnpike
The Northwestern Turnpike is a historic road in West Virginia (Virginia at the time the road was created), important for being historically one of the major roads crossing the Appalachians, financed by the Virginia Board of Public Works in the 183 ...
(
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...
) as it travels down the mountain. From the base of South Branch Mountain, Big Run flows under Grassy Lick Road (County Route 10) and beneath the old Miller's Market store followed by US 50. Once it flows north of US 50, Big Run meanders around the Koolwink Motel and continues to parallel the highway. On its northwestern track, the stream trickles through a number of residential communities before entering the grounds of the
West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind
The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (WVSDB) were established by an Act of the Legislature on March 3, 1870. The School for the Deaf and the School for the Blind offer comprehensive educational programs for hearing impaired and vi ...
. At the WVSDB, Big Run serves as a forested scenic stream that meanders through the school's grounds. As of 2008, the old dam behind the school's maintenance buildings remains.
From the school, Big Run continues to the northwest by the community's
Little League baseball field
A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...
and below Romney's Savilla-Vale neighborhood. After it flows beneath High Street (
West Virginia Route 28), Big Run parallels WV 28 moving northward and passes through the Hampshire County Industrial Park. It then flows beneath the
South Branch Valley Railroad
The South Branch Valley Railroad is a railroad in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The branch line, which parallels the South Branch Potomac River, runs north from Petersburg to Green Spring, where it connects to the national rail netw ...
and passes the old "Cold Storage" facility and
Wappocomo farm before it empties into the
South Branch Potomac River.
Flora
Trees along the creek's path include
White oak (''Quercus alba''),
Pin oak (''Quercus palustris''),
Silver maple (''Acer saccharinum''),
Sugar maple (''Acer saccharum''),
Virginia pine
''Pinus virginiana'', the Virginia pine, scrub pine, Jersey pine, Possum pine, is a medium-sized tree, often found on poorer soils from Long Island in southern New York south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama. The ...
(''Pinus virginiana''),
Eastern hemlock (''Tsuga canadensis''),
American Tulip Tree
''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus ''Liriodendron'' (the other ...
(''Liriodendron tulipifera''), and
American sycamore
''Platanus occidentalis'', also known as American sycamore, American planetree, western plane, occidental plane, buttonwood, and water beech, is a species of ''Platanus'' native to the eastern and central United States, the mountains of northeas ...
(''Platanus occidentalis'').
Bridges
See also
*
List of rivers of West Virginia
References
External links
{{authority control
Rivers of Hampshire County, West Virginia
Rivers of West Virginia
Tributaries of the Potomac River