Ganargua Creek, also known as Mud Creek, is a main tributary which feeds the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

and Clyde River in

Wayne County, New York Wayne County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 91,283. The county seat is Lyons. The name honors General Anthony Wayne, an American Revolutionary War hero and American statesman. Wayne Coun ...

, United States. The creek begins just east of the village of

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

in nearby Ontario County and meanders approximately 34 miles (55 kilometers) from west to east before emptying into the Erie Canal in the hamlet of

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

. Ganargua Creek is actually split into two sections as it runs concurrent with the Erie Canal for about 3 miles (5 kilometers) near the village of

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

. Numerous tributaries feed Ganargua Creek along its route. Ganargua Creek is part of the Clyde River watershed which feeds the Seneca River. From there, the Seneca River enters the Oswego River and into

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

. The name Ganargua has been translated as "where the village sprang up" or "a village suddenly sprang up", and the name was given to by the creek by the region's original

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

inhabitants. The nickname of 'Mud Creek' is given due to the murkiness of the water. Ganargua Creek is a primary spot for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

and

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

. Even though a channel has been cut through the foliage, paddling trips on the creek can be difficult due to a number of log jams from fallen trees as a result of ice storms which hit the greater

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

area in 1991 and 2003.

Course of southern section

The 13-mile (21-kilometer) southern section of Ganargua Creek, known as the "Upper" on watershed documents, begins in the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

County town of

at the confluence of Mud Creek, Fish Creek and Great Brook near the

Ontario Central Railroad The Ontario Central Railroad is an American class III railroad company operating in Ontario County, New York. As of 2007, the ONCT has been under the ownership of the Finger Lakes Railway which is based in Geneva, New York.NY Route 96 and Plaster Mill Road. The primary source feeding Ganargua Creek is Mud Creek which starts on the southern end of Ontario County near Bristol Mountain. From the confluence, Ganargua Creek flows north and east through the western end of the town of

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

, including passing under the

New York State Thruway {{Infobox road , state = NY , type = NYST , alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway , maint = NYSTA , map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...

, before entering Wayne County. It continues in snake-like fashion through the town and village of

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

until its conjunction with the

just east of Lock #29 in

. The creek passes through the remains of the Palmyra Aqueduct (built 1857) prior to the canal. From there, Ganargua Creek runs concurrent with the Erie Canal for roughly three miles before breaking off and continuing northeast.

Course of northern section

The 18-mile (29-kilometer) northern section of Ganargua Creek, known as the "Lower" on watershed documents, begins in the Wayne County town of

at a spillway off the Erie Canal near Swifts Landing Park west of Galloway Road along NY Route 31. Access to the area can be made from the Erie Canalway Trail via Swifts Landing Park on Hogback Road. Ganargua Creek runs northeast towards the community of East Palmyra and into the town of

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

, following the

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

railroad line. It will pass just north of the village of

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

and continue northeast along the

Ontario Midland Railroad The Ontario Midland Railroad Corporation is an American Class III railroad company operating in western New York.Onta ...

line to just south of the community of Fairville Station at Norsen Bridge Park. Ganargua Creek will then meander its way back southeast along Bauer-Van Wickle Road and Layton Street into the town and hamlet of

where it will finally enter the Erie Canal at Miller's Marina near Abbey Park west of Lock #27. This section between Palmyra and Lyons is where the most paddling of Ganargua Creek occurs as the other section is quite shallow and unsuitable.

Tributaries

There are eight primary tributaries feeding Ganargua Creek which are part of its watershed although other minor waterways directly enter it as well. First are Mud Creek, Fish Creek and Great Brook which meet together to form Ganargua Creek near Victor. Further down the creek, from the right include Trap Brook in Macedon and Hathaway Brook in Palmyra which actually empties into the Erie Canal. On the left side are two waterways named Red Creek. The western one travels through the towns of

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

, Macedon and Palmyra into Ganargua Creek at the spillway. Not far from there, the eastern one runs through the towns of

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

and Palmyra and enters Ganargua Creek near East Palmyra. The eighth tributary is Butternut Run in the town of Lyons.

History

Use of Ganargua Creek dates back to pre-

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

times. It was a primary stopover point for the

on their trade routes.

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...

founder

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

also had an interest in the creek after hearing a speech from Seneca Indian Chief

Red Jacket Red Jacket (known as ''Otetiani'' in his youth and ''Sagoyewatha'' eeper Awake''Sa-go-ye-wa-tha'' as an adult because of his oratorical skills) (c. 1750–January 20, 1830) was a Seneca people, Seneca orator and Tribal chief, chief of the Wolf ...

at Palmyra in 1822. Before the Erie Canal was constructed in 1817, Ganargua Creek originally met the

Canandaigua Outlet The Canandaigua Outlet is a main tributary which feeds the Erie Canal and Clyde River in Wayne County, New York, United States. It begins at Canandaigua Lake in nearby Ontario County and flows approximately north before emptying into the Erie C ...

in Lyons to form the Clyde River.

Parks & Trails

Some parks and hiking trails are located along Ganargua Creek, primarily in Wayne County, including Ganargua Creek Meadow Preserve in Macedon, Gravino Park in Macedon, Aqueduct Park in Palmyra, the Erie Canalway Trail in Palmyra, Swifts Landing Park near Palmyra, Norsen Bridge Park near Newark and Abbey Park in Lyons.

References

* The Juvenile Instructor
Ganargua Creek: Credits
Retrieved Sep. 3, 2013. * Trails.com
Ganargua Creek: Credits
Retrieved Sep. 3, 2013. * Genesee Land Trust - Ganargua Creek Meadow Preserve
Ganargua Creek: Credits
. Retrieved Sep. 3, 2013. * Community Walk
Ganargua Creek: Credits
. Retrieved Sep. 3, 2013. * Wayne County Office of the County Historian

Retrieved Sep. 3, 2013. * Erie Canalway

Retrieved Sep. 3, 2013. * Google Maps
Ganargua Creek: Credits
Retrieved Sep. 3, 2013. * Water Inventory/Priority Waterbodies List in Wayne County
Ganargua Creek: Credits
Retrieved Sep. 23, 2014. * Lower Ganargua Creek Watershed Assessment
Ganargua Creek: Credits
Retrieved Sep. 23, 2014. * NYDEC Waterbody Inventory for Seneca River (Clyde River) Watershed
Ganargua Creek: Credits
. Retrieved Sep. 23, 2014.