Conococheague Creek, a

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 ...

of 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 ...

, is a free-flowing stream that originates in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and empties into the Potomac River near Williamsport,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It is in length,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed August 15, 2011 with in Pennsylvania and in Maryland. The watershed of Conococheague Creek has an area of approximately , out of which only (12% of the area) are in Maryland. The word "Conococheague" is translated from the

Delaware Indian The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

or Unami-Lenapi term ''òk'chaxk'hanna,'' which means "many-turns-river." The Conococheague, or ''Connogochegue'', as it was known at the time, was the northernmost extent of the range along the Potomac within which Congress in the Residence Bill of 1790 authorized the establishment of the Federal District, known as the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. By presidential proclamation,

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

placed the District at the lower end of the range, near the "Eastern Branch", later

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. ...

, which marked the southernmost extent of the Residence Bill's range. The

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

between Conococheague Creek and

Conodoguinet Creek Conodoguinet Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in South central Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2004. The name is Native American, and means "A Long Way with Many Bends". Conodo ...

is sometimes used as the boundary between the

Hagerstown Valley Hagerstown Valley is located in Maryland in the United States. It is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, which continues northward as Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania, and southward as Shenandoah Valley in West Virginia and Virginia. Hagerstow ...

and the

Cumberland Valley The Cumberland Valley is a northern constituent valley of the Great Appalachian Valley, within the Atlantic Seaboard watershed in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Appalachian Trail crosses through the valley. Geography The valley is bound to ...

Main stem above the West Branch

Conococheague Creek, above its confluence with its West Branch, is sometimes referred to as the East Branch Conococheague Creek. At , the "East Branch" is shorter than the West Branch. It rises in the South Mountain range of south-central Pennsylvania, forming in northwestern Adams County between East Big Flat Ridge and Piney Mountain. The creek flows southwest, turning west at

Caledonia State Park Caledonia State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Greene Township, Franklin County and Franklin Township, Adams County in southern Pennsylvania. The park is named for the Caledonia Furnace, an iron furnace that was owned by Thaddeus Ste ...

, and continues past Fayetteville into the

Great Appalachian Valley The Great Appalachian Valley, also called The Great Valley or Great Valley Region, is one of the major landform features of eastern North America. It is a gigantic trough—a chain of valley lowlands—and the central feature of the Appalachian M ...

, turning southwest at

Chambersburg Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...

and flowing west of Greencastle. The creek from Fayetteville to its confluence with Back Creek near Williamson is very polluted from farm runoff. Over the past 30 years there has been a steady decline in the number of available native fish species, such as

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

, horned chub,

calico bass Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fa ...

, and

white sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii)'' is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is common ...

, and overall water quality due to sediment collection on the bottom, thereby severely limiting the ability of these native species to spawn. This in turn has made parts of the lower East Branch ideal for catching huge crayfish at night; however, the food value of this species, due to pollution, is dubious at best.

West Branch Conococheague Creek

The West Branch Conococheague Creek flows for , almost the entire length of western Franklin County, before joining the main branch near the borough of Greencastle. The West Branch is the more pure of the two, owing mostly to the fact that a large portion of it runs through wilderness, making for very fine smallmouth bass,

warmouth The warmouth (''Lepomis gulosus'') is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae) that is found throughout the eastern United States. Other local names include molly, redeye, goggle-eye, red-eyed bream, and strawberry perch. Descrip ...

and

fishing. However, there are a few small sewage treatment plants on the lower West Branch, starting at Fort Loudon, that make the lower West Branch less hospitable to native species' spawning.

Northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

and pickerel have been caught in the creek. The West Branch flows southwest along the

Tuscarora Trail The Tuscarora Trail is a hiking trail in the eastern United States, following the Appalachian Mountains through portions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Its route is roughly parallel to, and to the west of, the Appalachia ...

to around Fort Loudon, then turns south, and finally southeast, joining the main stem north of the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...

. The Bridge in Metal Township crosses the West Branch Conococheague Creek at Metal Township in

Franklin County, Pennsylvania Franklin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,932 Its county seat is Chambersburg. Franklin County comprises the Chambersburg–Waynesboro, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1988.

Main stem below the West Branch

Conococheague Creek continues south into

and enters the Potomac near Williamsport, where the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road crossed the river at William's Ferry, continuing on to

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

. The crossing is where Braddock's forces crossed the Potomac after leaving

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

on their way to Winchester. The Tuscarora Trail crosses the Conococheague.

References

External links

*
Conococheague Creek
at Maryland Department of the Environment {{Coord, 39, 36, 02, N, 77, 49, 42, W, type:river, display=title Rivers of Washington County, Maryland Rivers of Maryland Rivers of Pennsylvania Rivers of Franklin County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Potomac River

Main stem above the West Branch

West Branch Conococheague Creek

Main stem below the West Branch

See also

References

External links