Rock Creek is an tributary of the

Monocacy River The Monocacy River () is a free-flowing left tributary to the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The river is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data ...

in south-central

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 serves as the border between

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

and Mount Joy townships. Rock Creek was used by the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

(at McAllister's Mill, "slaves would slosh through the water to throw off the tracking dogs that were pursuing them") and flows near several

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first sho ...

sites, including Culp's Hill, the Benner Hill artillery location, and Barlow Knoll. , align=left , , - , , Harrisburg Road site of forme
1846 covered bridge
built by Joseph Clapsaddle near Barlow Knoll , align=center, , - , Run , drainage from the east , align= , - , Run , Drainage along former site of Alm's house from

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

Quarry Lake A quarry lake is a lake that is formed after a quarry has been dug through a mining operation. Formation During the mining process, water must be emptied. But after the mining operation has been abandoned, groundwater is allowed to seep in, ...

& Oak Ridge triple point (with Willoughby/

Pitzer Run Pitzer Run is a Pennsylvania stream flowing southward between McPherson Ridge and Seminary and Warfield Ridges through the Gettysburg Battlefield to Willoughby Run at the site of Pitzer's School, which was Confederate General Longstreet's headq ...

s) , align=left, , - , Stevens Creek , , align=left, , - , Island , Depicted on 1916 Gettysburg National Military Park map , , - , Run , (Depicted on battlefield map at right) , , - , Railroad ,

Early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

's Confederates burned the trestle on June 27, 186

rebuilt days later & in 191

, , - , US 30

US 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

, 1807 3-arc

stone bridge of , 1853 covered bridge, 1919

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 191 ...

bridg

replacemen

, align=center, , - , PA-116

Pennsylvania Route 116, PA 116 , Site of former 1853 90-foot covered bridge built by John Finly and 1932 concrete bridg

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9qclAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DvMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7133,5236709&dq=covered-bridge+gettysburg&hl=en] , align=center, , - , Survey line , Borough line , , - , Winebrenner Run

https://books.google.com/books?id=ufawhIVUg0MC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=%22Winebrenner's+Run%22+gettysburg&source=bl&ots=SmFwvZjJZi&sig=bpE5iej2A66z1eDXNSIRTM7ziOY&hl=en&ei=mzdTTYHwDcP3gAepn-TOCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22Winebrenner's%20Run%22%20gettysburg&f=false] , align=center, , - , Rock Creek Ravine , Location noted in several battle records , align=center, , - , Jones Bridge Run? , Flows north of Culp's Hill to confluence just upstream of island , align=left, , - , Survey line , 1893 Warren survey line for

crossed cree

, , -
Benner Run
, Flows southeast of Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day#Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill, Benner's Hill artillery location ("Ladys Run" in 188

, align=center, , - , Ford , between Spangler Spring and farm (Z. Tawney during the battle) , , - , Spangler Spring Run , Drainage southward from Stevens Knoll , align=left, , - , Guinn Run

ref name=Perles/> , , align=left, , - , , Former site of McAllister's Mill dam (destroyed by 1870 floo

, , - , Run , (Depicted on battlefield map at right) , , - , Ford , 1889 road downstream of McAllister's Mill

, , - , Baltimore Pike , 1802 turnpike bridge (north of PA-97

PA 97 terminus) , align=center, , - , Run , Flows under Baltimore Pike , align= , - , Run , , align= , - , Run , , align= , - , US 15

US 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 ...

, Near site of

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...

field hospital at George Bushman Farm: , , - , White Run , Drainage from Lake Heritage, Pennsylvania , align= , - , Run , Drainage from Weikert Hill and

Round Top, Pennsylvania Round Top is a populated place in Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, near Little Round Top. It is notable for two Battle of Gettysburg hospitals, the 1884 Round Top Station, and several battlefield commemorative era attractions ...

, align=left , , - , Wright Avenue Run , from

Big Round Top Big Round Top is a boulder-strewn hill notable as the topographic high point of the Gettysburg Battlefield and for 1863 American Civil War engagements for which Medals of Honor were awarded. In addition to battle monuments, a historic postbell ...

, , - , Sachs Road , 1891 bridge , align=center, , - , Little's Run , " Two Taverns Run" in 190

when bridge was built at Little's Tavern , align= , - , Soloman Road , 1895 steel Burr Truss, Burr arch bridge

"Lott's Bridg

at "Lott's fording" & 1977 ("Lott's Bridge") near Pine Bank Cemetery , align=center, , - , Run , , align=left, , - , Rock Creek Ford , Former ford just upstream of bend in creek with overhanging cliff , align=center, , - , Distributary , Former headpoint of millrace , align= , - , Dam ruins , Former 1798 Black's/Horner's Mill dam to provide head for millrace (rebuilt 1937) construction , align=center, , - , Plum Run , Named "Rock" Run in 1821 , align=left, , - , PA-134

PA 134 , Taneytown Rd at Barlow
1841 covered bridge
, 1923 & 1989 concrete bridges , align=center, , - , Run , Flow from southwest of

, align=left, , - , Run , , align=left, , - , Cromer's Ford , Former ford for Chapel Road route south to Taneytown Rd (horse team, wagon, & driver swept away in 1875) , align=center, , - , Run , Upstream of site of former ford at Benner Rd , align=center, , - , Run , Near former intersection of Taneytown Rd & Basehoar-Roth Rd, and upstream of former Swetland Rd ford , align= , - , Mason-Dixon Rd , ("Rock Creek Rd") site of 192-foot, single-span 1890 Burr arch bridge (east span collapsed January 5, 194

, align=center, , - , Lousy Run , Near The Gettysburg Championship, The Links , align= , - , Mouth ,

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 Marsh Creek ("The Points") , align=left, at confluence point (Rock Creek west bank and Marsh Creek north bank) at water level & at base of 8 foot embankment) , -

Tributaries

*Blocher's Run is a stream which flows from Oak Ridge ( triple watershed point at ) on the Gettysburg Battlefield eastward to the Rock Creek () through and near areas of the Battle of Gettysburg, First Day. During the Battle of Gettysburg Confederate soldiers took cover behind the trees that lined the stream. *Guinn Run is a stream flowing southeastward from Cemetery Hill past the

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center The Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center is a Gettysburg National Military Park facility, with a museum about the American Civil War, the 1884 Gettysburg Cyclorama, and the tour center for licensed Battlefield Guides and for buses to see the Getty ...

to Rock Creek. The stream was bridged by the 1809 Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike Company and in the commemorative era by the United States War Department when Hunt and Slocum Avenues were built. A dam was built on Guinn Run to form a pond for Fantasyland, Pennsylvania, through the 1960s and 1970

*Spangler Spring Run is a stream which flows from near Culp's Hill to the Rock Creek through Gettysburg Battlefield areas of the Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day, to Rock Creek at . *Stevens Run (Stevens Creek, Tiber) is a stream which is a tributary of Rock Creek flowing over the Gettysburg Battlefield and through the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Within the borough the stream is in a concrete channel, including a covered portion. From 1884 to 1942, the run was spanned by three bridges of the

Round Top Branch The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania. The branch ran southward from the terminus of the railroad's main line ( ...

railroad.

Samuel Gettys Samuel Gettys (1725–15 March 1790) was a settler and tavern owner in south-central Pennsylvania during the late 1780s. The borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which was founded in 1786, was named after him. Formative years Born in 1725 in Ra ...

' Tavern was located on the south side on the uphill slope of the now-named Stevens Run, and Rock Creek Church was approximately on the north bank of the now-named Carlisle Street and Stevens Run. In 1902, a new bridge was built over the Tiber on Chambersburg Stree

*Winebrenner Run is a stream in Gettysburg, flowing eastward to Rock Creek originally from a

Gettys-Black Divide The Gettys-Black divide is the primary drainage divide of Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania; extending from the mouth of Stevens Creek southward past Samuel Gettys' 1761 tavern ~7 miles to the mouth of Plum Run at the dam site for ...

triple point (with Stevens Run & Guinn Run) near

Zeigler's Grove The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first sho ...

. The Confederate military line along the stream was the starting point for the battle of East Cemetery Hill on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, and most of the upstream portion of the run was engineered into underground drainage to open flow at the school complex near the Culp Farm at East Confederate Avenuebr>
*White Run is a stream which flows along East Cavalry Field and is an

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

of the Rock Creek-White Run hospital complex. The run's mouth is at Rock Creek near the Trostle Farm along the Sachs Road, site of a hospital east of Round Top, Pennsylvania.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Pennsylvania Rivers of Adams County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Monocacy River

Tributaries

See also

References