Westchester Creek, from Clason Point Park

Westchester Creek (also known as Frenchman's Creek) is a tidal inlet of the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

located in the south eastern portion of

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It is 2.1 miles (3.39 km) in length. The creek formerly traveled further inland, to what is now

Pelham Parkway The Bronx and Pelham Parkway, also known formally as the Bronx–Pelham Parkway but called Pelham Parkway in everyday use, is a parkway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. The road begins in Bronx Park at the Bronx River Parkway and ...

, extending almost to

Eastchester Bay Eastchester Bay is a sound between City Island and the mainland Bronx in New York City, New York. Technically, it is not a bay, since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. The northern end connects via a narrow channel to Pelham ...

and making

Throggs Neck Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and east, Westchester Creek on ...

into an island during heavy storms. However, much of the route has been filled in, replaced by such structures as the New York City Subway's

Westchester Yard The New York City Transit Authority operates a total of 24 rail yards for the New York City Subway system, and one for the Staten Island Railway. There are 10 active A Division yards and 11 active B Division yards, two of which are shared betwee ...

and the Hutchinson Metro Center. Westchester Creek's present-day head is at Herbert H. Lehman High School; the remaining portion is largely inaccessible and surrounded by industrial enterprises or empty lots. Westchester Creek is traversed by the

Bruckner Interchange The Bruckner Interchange is a complex interchange in the New York City borough of The Bronx in the United States. The junction connects four highways: the Bruckner, Cross Bronx, and Hutchinson River (or Whitestone) Expressways, and the Hutch ...

at about its midpoint. Pugsley Creek, historically known as Maenippis Kill and Cromwell's Creek, is a right bank tributary of Westchester Creek and is surrounded by a park of the same name. The creek formerly extended north to

Westchester Avenue Westchester Avenue is a major east-west street in the South and East portions of the Bronx, New York City. It runs from Third Avenue and 150th Street in the Hub to Pelham Bay Park in the Pelham Bay section. It crosses many neighborhoods of the B ...

, but was later truncated to

Bruckner Expressway The Bruckner Expressway is a freeway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It carries Interstate 278 (I-278) and I-95 (and formerly I-878) from the Triborough Bridge to the south end of the New England Thruway at the Pelham Parkw ...

and then to its current terminus at Lacombe Avenue. Most of the former creekbed has been developed, though a single block of Bolton Avenue on the creek's path remains undeveloped.

Ferry Point Park Ferry Point Park is a park in the Bronx, New York City. The park site is a peninsula projecting into the East River roughly opposite the College Point and Malba neighborhoods of Queens. The park is located on the eastern shore of Westchester ...

is on the east bank. The first permanent European settlement in the Bronx,

Westchester Square Westchester Square is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the eastern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East Tremont Avenue and Silver Street, Blon ...

, was established in 1654 by

Thomas Pell Thomas Pell, 1st Lord of Pelham Manor (1608 – September 21, 1669) was an English-born physician who bought the area known as Pelham, New York, as well as land that now includes the eastern Bronx and southern Westchester County, New York, and foun ...

and 15-20 settlers at the head of navigation of Westchester Creek. The creek's original headwaters was buried in the 1930s to make way for the construction of the

Hutchinson River Parkway The Hutchinson River Parkway (known colloquially as The Hutch) is a north–south parkway in southern New York in the United States. It extends for from the massive Bruckner Interchange in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx to the New York ...

. A 30-slip marina called Metro Marine was built on the creek in 1957. The creek has become polluted over the years due to heavy industrial use. However, in 2014, the Friends of Ferry Point Park announced plans to restore Westchester and Pugsley Creeks for $100 million.

References

External links

Bronx County Historical Society
Long Island Sound Rivers of New York (state) Rivers of the Bronx Westchester Square, Bronx {{NewYork-river-stub

See also

References

External links