Red Clay Creek is a

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 ...

White Clay Creek White Clay Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Christina River in southern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. ...

, running through southeastern

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, ...

and northern

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

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 ...

. As of 2000, portions of the creek are under wildlife habitat protection.

Course

The East and West branches both rise in

West Marlborough Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania West Marlborough Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 814 at the 2010 census. East Marlborough and West Marlborough townships were carved out of the larger Marlborough Township in 1729. Wes ...

, near the hamlet of Upland, and flow south through

Kennett Square Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over 500 million pounds of mushrooms a year, totaling half of the United ...

before uniting just north of the Delaware border. The stream enters Delaware near the town of Yorklyn and flows southward through

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

, passing through Marshallton. Red Clay Creek empties into

near Stanton, approximately southwest of Wilmington. Ultimately, White Clay Creek enters the Christina River, also near Stanton.

Tributaries

* Calf Run, located in the southeast of

Mill Creek Hundred Mill Creek Hundred is an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County, Delaware. Hundreds were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly, and while their names still appear on all real estate transactions, they pr ...

* Pyle's Run, located in

Christiana Hundred Christiana Hundred is an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County, Delaware. Hundreds were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly, and while their names still appear on all real estate transactions, they p ...

History

The creek serves as a boundary between the Hundreds of Mill Creek and Christiana. The

Wilmington and Western Railroad The Wilmington and Western Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad in northern Delaware, operating over a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) branch line between Wilmington and Hockessin. The railroad operates both steam and diesel lo ...

follows the creek south from Yorklyn as far as Greenbank. In the late 19th Century, several factories were located along Red Clay Creek, including those for the manufacture of

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

. The creek suffered from severe flooding in 1999 due to

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd tr ...

and in 2003 due to

Tropical Storm Henri The name Henri has been used for six tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean: *Hurricane Henri (1979), took unusual route around Yucatán Peninsula, caused no significant damage * Tropical Storm Henri (1985), crossed Long Island as a weak storm, ...

. Since 2000, portions of the river, along with other tributaries of White Clay Creek, have been protected as part of the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River.

Bridges

* Ashland Covered Bridge, in New Castle County, Delaware * Wooddale Bridge, in New Castle County, Delaware

References

External links