Twelvepole Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed May 26, 2011 river located in

Wayne County, West Virginia Wayne County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,982. Its county seat is Wayne. The county was founded in 1842 and named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. Wayne County is ...

. It is part of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

watershed, by way of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. It is alternately known as Twelve Pole Creek.

Course

Twelvepole Creek rises in northern Mingo County before flowing north through Wayne County. The headwaters of the East Fork are dammed to form

East Lynn Lake East Lynn Lake is a reservoir on the East Fork Twelvepole Creek in Wayne County, West Virginia. The lake is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, as part of a series of flood control projects for the Ohio River bas ...

. The East Fork of the river then flows north through East Lynn, Wayne, and Lavalette. The West Fork flows north through

Dunlow, West Virginia Dunlow is an unincorporated community in southern Wayne County, West Virginia, United States, on Twelvepole Creek. It was laid out as a railroad town along the Ohio Extension of the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1892. Dunlow was incorporated in ...

and joins the East Fork at the town of Wayne. The river then flows north again before draining into the Ohio River just east of Ceredo.

Origin of name

Twelvepole Creek received its name from early explorers, the group supposedly included a young George Washington. Traveling the Ohio River, they measured the mouth of the creek where it joined the Ohio in terms of

poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

, also known as rods. Being approximately 198 feet (12 poles) wide at its mouth, the creek was named Twelvepole Creek.

Recreation

East Lynn Lake and

Beech Fork Lake Beech Fork Lake is a reservoir located near Lavalette in Wayne County, West Virginia, United States. Beech Fork Lake is also partly located in neighboring Cabell County. Millers Fork and Stowers Branch join Beech Fork with their own river valle ...

(formed from one of Twelvepole Creek's tributaries) provide popular destinations for boating, fishing, swimming, and camping.

References

{{authority control Rivers of West Virginia Tributaries of the Ohio River Rivers of Wayne County, West Virginia

Course

Origin of name

Recreation

See also

References