Pistol Creek is a tributary of the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River *Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Hawk ...

, located entirely within

Blount County, Tennessee Blount County is a county located in the East Tennessee Grand Division of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 135,280. The county seat is Maryville, which is also the county's largest city. Blount County is ...

Features

Pistol Creek arises from several springs in the Carpenter's Campground section of Blount County, flowing first northeast, then northwest to Pearson Springs within the city of Maryville. At Pearson Springs, the

Maryville Alcoa Greenway The Maryville Alcoa Greenway is a cooperative effort by the two cities and Blount County, Tennessee to connect existing parks with a paved foot and cycle path. History The city of Maryville initially developed its Bicentennial Greenbelt Park by ...

begins to parallel Pistol Creek, which then flows east through

Pearson Springs Park Pearson Springs Park is a public park managed by Maryville/Alcoa/Blount County Parks and Recreation. Pearson Springs parallels Pistol Creek from Best Road on the northeast to the junction of the Maryville Alcoa Greenway and Montgomery Lane on the ...

and

Sandy Springs Park Sandy Springs Park is a public park located in Maryville, Tennessee. Location Sandy Springs Park is bound on the southwest by Best Street, on the northeast by Cedar Street, on northwest by Boyd Avenue and Willow Avenue, and on the southeast by K ...

. On the south side of Maryville, the creek passes the ruins of an early 20th-century dam and

mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a mi ...

that are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Further downstream it passes Fort Craig spring, site of Maryville's founding settlement. It then hooks around the downtown area and contributes, along with Brown Creek, to the impounded Greenbelt lake on the north side of town. From the Greenbelt it flows north into

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

and joins the Little River a mile south of Rockford. Pistol Creek has been designated an "impaired" stream by the Tennessee Department of Natural Resources. The stream suffers from a large amount of runoff from the cities of Maryville and Alcoa. Both cities have spent considerable funds, time and effort seeking to clean up and beautify the Pistol Creek watershed.

References

*US Geologic Survey 1:150,000 map Rivers of Blount County, Tennessee Rivers of Tennessee Maryville, Tennessee {{BlountCountyTN-geo-stub

Features

See also

References