Jericho Creek (Towssisink, Bakers Creek, Knowles Creek) is a tributary of the Delaware River, rising in Wrightstown Township,

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

, passing into Upper Makefield township where it meets its confluence with the Delaware.

History

Named for the nearby mountain of the same name, Jericho Creek formed part of the boundary of William Penn's original purchase of land on 15 July 1682 with the Lenape. Later it became the southern boundary of the

Walking Purchase The Walking Purchase (or Walking Treaty) was a 1737 agreement between the Penn family, the original proprietors of the Province of Pennsylvania, later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Lenape native Indians (also known as the Delaware In ...

(19-20 September 1737). It was first named Bakers Creek for Henry Baker, Justice of the Peace, who may have been landowner and settler before 1682. The Indian Purchase of 1682 was limited to extend up the Delaware River from the mouth of the

Neshaminy Creek Neshaminy Creek is a United States Geological Survey. National Hydrography DatasetThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 stream that runs entirely through Bucks County, Pennsylvania, rising south of the borough of Chalfont, where its north ...

"as far as a man can walk in a day and a half". It was said that this was done by

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

himself, some of his friends and some indian chiefs. This was a leisurely walk with breaks, unlike the

of 1737 by Penn's sons. The creek was marked Knowles Creek on a number of maps of the 19th century.MacReynolds, George, ''Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania'', Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P206.

Statistics

Jericho Creek was entered into the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

database of the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

as identification number 1178049 on 2 August 1979, and is listed in the Pennsylvania Gazatteer of Streams as identification number 02975.http://www.lycoming.edu/cwi/pdfs/paGazetterOfStreams.pdf, page 76

Course

Jericho creek rises in

Wrightstown Township, Pennsylvania Wrightstown Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,995 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 10.0 square miles (25.8&nb ...

and flows generally easterly to its confluence at the Delaware River's 144.20

river mile A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the river kilometer. They are analogous to vehicle roa ...

and its watershed is .

Municipalities

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

** Upper Makefield Township ** Wrightstown Township

Crossings and Bridges

References