Lycoming Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed August 8, 2011

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

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exten ...

located in Tioga and Lycoming counties 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, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Geography

As the crow flies __NOTOC__ The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver ...

, Lycoming County is about northwest of

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 ...

and east-northeast of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Lycoming Creek has its

river source The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition T ...

in Tioga County and is in length from the Tioga County / Lycoming County line to its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the West Branch Susquehanna River at Williamsport. Smaller streams feeding Lycoming Creek include Pleasant Stream, Grays Run, Roaring Branch, Hoagland Run, and Trout Run.

Watershed

Approximately 81.5% of the Lycoming Creek watershed is in Lycoming County, with 16.5% in Tioga County, and 1.5% in Sullivan County. The watershed has a total

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 19,978 (as of 2000) and a total area of . Of that area, are

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

ed, are given to

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

uses, only are developed, and the remaining is classified as barren.

Recreation

Lycoming Creek is a popular site for

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

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 ...

and is usually heavily stocked with fish in the

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

, especially in its upper reaches in Lycoming County. Much of the creek runs through heavily wooded areas, including the

Tiadaghton State Forest Tiadaghton State Forest (; ) is a Pennsylvania State Forest (Forest District #12) in the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. The forest is primarily in western and southern Lycoming County, with small ...

near Grays Run. North of Trout Run,

Pennsylvania Route 14 Pennsylvania Route 14 (PA 14) is a Pennsylvania highway that runs for . It runs from U.S. Route 15 (US 15) in Trout Run, Pennsylvania to the New York-Pennsylvania border at Fassett, Pennsylvania, co-signed with US 6 for a short distance in Tro ...

runs parallel to the creek. From Trout Run south to Williamsport,

U.S. Route 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...

(and old route 15) run parallel to the creek. Historic Bowman Field, home to the minor league baseball

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were ...

, is located along the creek near its mouth in the western Newberry section of Williamsport.

History

Lycoming Creek, which begins in McNett Township, served as a highway of sorts during the colonial era of Pennsylvania's history. The local

Lenape 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 includ ...

(Delaware) people called it Legani-hanne, meaning "sandy stream" - the name was later rendered by Europeans as Lycaumick and then Lycoming. The stream was used by early explorers and the Native Americans in the area as a means of travel. They were able to float their canoes down the creek and into the

. This mode of transportation was considerably faster than walking the path.

Conrad Weiser Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a f ...

guided Moravian

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

along the creek and path to reach

Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capita ...

, the capital of the

Iroquois Confederacy 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 ...

in 1737. Raiding parties of Indian warriors used the creek and path in 1770 when conducting attacks on the

West Branch Susquehanna Valley The West Branch Susquehanna Valley of central Pennsylvania, United States, in the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians, is the low-lying area draining into the West Branch Susquehanna River southeast of the Allegheny Front, northeast of the Bald Eagle ...

strongholds of Fort Muncy and Fort Freeland. Fort Freeland was also attacked and captured by Loyalists in July 1779. Colonel

Thomas Hartley Thomas Hartley (September 7, 1748December 21, 1800) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician from York, Pennsylvania. Early life and education Hartley was born in Colebrookdale Township in the Province of Pennsylvania. At 18 years of ...

led the

6th Pennsylvania Regiment The 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, first known as the 5th Pennsylvania Battalion, was a unit of the United States of America (U.S.) Army, raised December 9, 1775, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for service with the Continental Army. The regiment ...

up the Sheshequin Path during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Hartley's expedition in 1778 preceded the

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide) was a United States military campaign during the American Revolutionary War, lasting from June to October 1779 ...

of 1779. Both Hartley and Sullivan were instrumental in claiming the frontier of Pennsylvania and New York for the forces of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

. As Hartley and his men passed through Lewis Township the Sheshequin path was widened. The widening of the path helped to open this area to settlement in the years following the Revolution. In 1839, the Williamsport and Elmira Railroad was built along the creek from Williamsport to Ralston, and was extended to the source of the creek and beyond to

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

, in 1854. The railroad was reorganized in 1860 as the Elmira and Williamsport Railroad, and came under the control of the

Northern Central Railway The Northern Central Railway (NCRY) was a Class I Railroad connecting Baltimore, Maryland with Sunbury, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. Completed in 1858, the line came under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1861, wh ...

in 1863, and later the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

and

were later built up the length of the creek. In 1972, flooding caused by

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...

washed out several rail bridges and resulted in the abandonment of the railroad north of Hepburnville; the remainder was abandoned in 1986. There was severe

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing on Lycoming Creek on January 19 and 20, 1996, when a combination of heavy snow on the ground, heavy rains and subsequent melting, and ice dams led to flooding two feet higher than that seen in 1972 with Hurricane Agnes. Six people died as a result of flooding on Lycoming Creek in the greater Williamsport area, and there was millions of dollars of damage to property.

External links

General reference

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 2001 ''Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams''Lycoming County Watersheds MapOfficial Lycoming County Map showing all townships, villages, boroughs, cities, county roads, rivers, creeks, and some streams

Lycoming Creek

Pennsylvania Game and Fish Commission description of Lycoming CreekChesapeake Bay Program page on Lycoming Creek Watershed
*

USGS 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, a ...

Real Time Water Data for Lycoming Creek:
Gauge near the creek's mouth at Williamsport

Gauge upstream near Trout Run
*Lycoming County Stream Gauge Data for Lycoming Creek:
Gauge at Hepburnville

Gauge at Bodines

Gauge at Ralston

Gauge at Deer Crossing

Gauge at Roaring Branch
{{authority control Rivers of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Rivers of Pennsylvania Rivers of Tioga County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the West Branch Susquehanna River