Crum Creek (from the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, meaning "crooked creek") is a creek in Delaware County and

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...

, flowing approximately , generally in a southward direction and draining into the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

Eddystone, Pennsylvania Eddystone is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,410 at the 2010 census. History The area at the mouth of Ridley Creek was first called "Tequirassy" by Native Americans. The land was owned by Olof Persson Stille, ...

. It begins in a swamp (formerly a lake, dammed out) near

Newtown Square, Pennsylvania Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1789 it was part of Chester County. The population was 12,216 as of the 2010 census, and was 19,705 as of 2017. History The first mention of the township was in 1684, ...

along which several mills were established in the 19th century. Right afterward it crosses under

Pennsylvania Route 29 Pennsylvania Route 29 (PA 29) is a north–south state highway that runs through most of eastern Pennsylvania. The route currently exists in two segments, a southern segment and a northern segment. The southern segment runs from U.S. Route ...

and winds one and a half miles () downstream until it hits the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Crum Creek. It later flows into the

near

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Two notable landmarks along the creek's course are high trestles: a trolley trestle about high runs across the creek in Smedley Park, in

Nether Providence Township Nether Providence Township is a first class township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Many residents refer to the township by the name of its largest community, Wallingford, because the Wallingford postal code is used for most o ...

; this trestle carries the

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

's 101 trolley line from

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about west of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation with 1.6 million residents as 2020. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolita ...

across the creek. About a mile () south, a , trestle carries SEPTA's

Media/Wawa Line The Media/Wawa Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service that runs from Center City Philadelphia west to Wawa in Delaware County. It uses the West Chester Branch, which connects with the SEPTA Main Line at 30th Street Station. Under the Pennsylva ...

commuter railroad line across the creek, which by now runs through a deep valley. The trestle is located in the Crum Woods, 200 acres of forest surrounding the creek that constitutes part of the campus of

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

. This tract, one of the largest patches of woodland remaining in Delaware County, is managed by the college's

Scott Arboretum Scott Arboretum () is an arboretum coterminous with the campus of and operated by Swarthmore College. It is open to the public daily without charge. The arboretum was established and endowed by the Scott family in 1929 in honor of Arthur Hoyt Sc ...

. The trestle is half in Nether Providence Township (west of the creek) and half in Swarthmore

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

(east of the creek). Baltimore Pike also crosses the Crum by Smedley Park in

. A stone bridge carrying the highway was erected in 1924 with a arch commemorating the 282 men and 2 women from Delaware County who died in World War I. This arch was demolished in 1958 when the highway was widened. The memorial tablets were moved to the nearby entrance of Smedley Park. Crum Creek was dammed in 1931 near

Pennsylvania Route 252 Pennsylvania Route 252 (PA 252) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that connects PA 320 in Nether Providence Township at its southern terminus to PA 23 in Valley Forge at its northern terminus. The route runs ...

to fill Springton Lake (also known as Geist Reservoir), an approximately Chester - Ridley - Crum Watersheds Association
drinking water reservoir maintained by

Aqua America Essential Utilities (formerly Aqua America and Peoples Natural Gas) is an American utility company that has stakes in Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia The company provides drinking water and wa ...

Dams

Crum Creek has five dams. The first is in Upper Providence Township, thus backing up the creek to create Springton Reservoir. The second is in

at the Aqua PA facility, it creates a small, unnamed reservoir. The third is just north of Wallingford Road (Rogers Lane) partly in Springfield Township and partly in Nether Providence Township. The fourth is under the SEPTA Media/Elwyn bridge partly in Swarthmore and partly in Nether Providence. The fifth is just north of East Rose Valley Road (Yale Avenue) partly in Swarthmore and partly in Nether Providence.

References

External links

Chester, Ridley, Crum Creeks WatershedsU.S. Geological Survey: PA stream gaging stations
{{authority control Tributaries of the Delaware River Rivers of Pennsylvania Rivers of Delaware County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Chester County, Pennsylvania

Dams

See also

References

External links