Irondequoit Creek is a

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 ...

in eastern

Monroe County, New York Monroe County is a county in the Finger Lakes region of the State of New York. The county is along Lake Ontario's southern shore. At the 2020 census, Monroe County's population was 759,443, an increase since the 2010 census. Its county seat an ...

that feeds

Irondequoit Bay Irondequoit Bay is a large body of water located in northeastern Monroe County, New York. The bay, roughly wide and in length, is fed by Irondequoit Creek to the south and flows into Lake Ontario at its northern end. On average, the surface of I ...

. It begins in rural West Bloomfield in Ontario County, flowing north into the town of Mendon in Monroe County. Accumulating a few small tributaries, it twists eastward back into the Ontario County town 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 ...

, then back north into Monroe County, where it flows through the towns of Perinton and Penfield on its way to the bay. It also skirts the edge of the combined town and village of East Rochester. The creek is believed to lie in a valley carved out by a pre-glacial

Genesee River The Genesee River is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides h ...

, which at the time would have flowed 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 ...

where Irondequoit Bay does today. Glacial debris caused the river to be rerouted as the glaciers retreated, leaving only the comparatively small creek ( Rogers 1893). The first settlements in the town of Penfield sprang up along the creek, as its waters were well suited to mills. The

Daisy Flour Mill The Daisy Flour Mill is a restaurant and assembly hall located in what was once a flour mill on Irondequoit Creek. It is located on Blossom Road in the town of Penfield, New York, just across the creek from Ellison Park. Originally built in 184 ...

, previously a restaurant, was the last of over a dozen mills that once used the creek's waters. The creek's valley caused a problem for the engineers of the original

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 ...

, who ultimately had to build the

Great Embankment Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

aqueduct to bridge the valley near Bushnell's Basin ( Fairchild 1896:134, Farley 2010, Schoff:505). The creek is stocked annually with fish by the

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection ...

for year-round fishing.

References

* * * * {{authority control Rivers of New York (state) Rivers of Monroe County, New York Rivers of Ontario County, New York