Middle Run Valley Natural Area | |
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![]() Main road-entrance to Middle Run Valley Natural Area, off of Possum Hollow Rd. | |
Location | New Castle, Delaware, United States |
Coordinates | 39°43′2″N75°43′22″W / 39.71722°N 75.72278°W |
Area | 850 acres (340 ha) |
Established | 1975 |
Named for | Middle Run |
Governing body | New Castle County, Delaware |
Website | New Castle County Parks |
Middle Run Valley Natural Area is a nature park owned and maintained by New Castle County, Delaware. The park, known also by its initials MRVNA, is located east of downtown Newark amidst residential neighborhoods and other park land. Establishment of MRVNA was begun in 1975; eventually the park reached its current 850 acres (3.4 km2) of forests, fields, creeks, and ponds. The most important of the creeks is Middle Run, which is a tributary of White Clay Creek, and flows mainly north to south through the park. The John C. Vansant House is located in the Middle Run Valley Natural Area. [1]
There is no admission fee for MRVNA. The main entrance is a gravel road that turns north off Possum Hollow Rd. (Past this entrance, a little further down along Possum Hollow Rd., can be found the headquarters of Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research.) A long connector trail extends north from the Lenape Trail to Papermill Park (a public park with ball fields, a jogging track and playground, located at the intersection of Paper Mill Road and Polly Drummond Hill Road). The primary roads that surround the park are Possum Park Road along the southwest, Smithmill Road on the north, Polly Drummond Hill Road on the east, and Paper Mill Road on the west. Fox Den Road cuts across the northern portion of the park.
MRVNA borders and connects with two portions of White Clay Creek State Park: the Possum Hill area on the northwest and the Judge Morris Estate on the southeast. In addition, William Redd Park (of the city of Newark) can be accessed from the east side of Possum Park Road thus making possible a nearly continuous nature-park hiking route from the Judge Morris Estate on the east to the Newark Reservoir on the west. Most recently it has become possible to proceed from the northeastern corner of the park, at Smithmill Road, to the northwest along Middle Run via a recently established trail northwestward amidst residential areas, ending at Curtis Mill, from which one may reach the northeasternmost sector of White Clay Creek State Park by crossing Paper Mill Road.
MRVNA accommodates automobiles in its parking lot off of Possum Hollow Road. The park area proper is meant for recreation on foot or on bicycle, with hunting allowed on occasion. There are 10 trails in the park with a total distance of 15.76 miles (25.36 km). As with White Clay Creek State Park, trail markers help to guide visitors; and several footbridges and boardwalks ease crossing of creeks and other wet spots, with stone or concrete steps in a few places. While the trails consist primarily of packed dirt, certain spots along the trails include also structures made of logs for mountain-bikers to test their skill.
The most important trails in MRVNA are Lenape Trail on the north, Double Horseshoe Trail on the southwest, Possum Hollow Trail on the south, and Snow Goose Trail on the southeast. This last trail is shared with White Clay Creek State Park, thus allowing connection across Polly Drummond Hill Road with Judge Morris Estate. In addition, there are several shorter trails and connectors (with and without names); a few spurs off of surrounding roads lead to MRVNA trails.
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Delaware Route 7 (DE 7) is a north–south highway in New Castle County, Delaware that connects U.S. Route 13 (US 13) and DE 72 in Wrangle Hill north to the Pennsylvania border near Hockessin, where the road continues into Pennsylvania as State Route 3013 (SR 3013), intersecting Pennsylvania Route 41 (PA 41) at an interchange. Between Wrangle Hill and Christiana, DE 7 runs parallel to the west of the DE 1 freeway through suburban areas, passing through Bear. DE 7 joins DE 1 next to the Christiana Mall and comes to an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95), where DE 1 reaches its northern terminus, before the freeway ends at the DE 58 interchange. After the freeway segment, DE 7 continues north as an at-grade road concurrent with DE 4 through Stanton. From Stanton to the Pennsylvania border, DE 7 heads northwest through suburban areas, passing through Pike Creek.
White Clay Creek Preserve is a 3,050-acre (1,230 ha) Pennsylvania state park along the valley of White Clay Creek in London Britain Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park was donated by the DuPont Company in 1984 for the purpose of "preserving the diverse and unique plant and animal species, and the rich cultural heritage of the area". Dupont also donated an additional 528 acres (214 ha) for the adjoining White Clay Creek State Park to the state of Delaware. White Clay Creek Preserve is 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Newark, Delaware on Pennsylvania Route 896.
White Clay Creek State Park is a Delaware state park along White Clay Creek on 3,647 acres (1,476 ha) in New Castle County, near Newark, Delaware in the United States. North of the park is Pennsylvania's White Clay Creek Preserve, and the two were originally operated as bi-state parks to jointly protect the creek, but now they operate separately. The White Clay Creek is federally protected as part of the National Park Service's National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. White Clay Creek State Park offers 37 miles (60 km) of nature and fitness trails which are open to hiking and mountain biking 365 days a year with access at a number of seasonal day-use fee parking lots. Fee season is in effect March 1 - November 30. Fees are $4 for in-state vehicle or $8 for out of state vehicles. Annual passes can be purchased at any DE State Park Office or online. The park also preserves a number of historic structures and operates a nature center. It is part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.
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White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church located near Newark, New Castle County, Delaware. The current structure was built in 1855, and is a two-story brick structure, nearly as tall as it is wide. The building measures 63 feet deep. The exterior features brick pilasters and tall stained glass windows. A 1996 addition to the front of the building contains an elevator to the second floor sanctuary and is topped by a steeple. It was preceded by a structure built in 1752. The church was organized as early as 1709 to serve Scotch-Irish Presbyterians at White Clay Creek. The original White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church was built in 1721 about a mile north on the NW Corner of Dewalt Rd and Old Coach Rd. It remains the Old White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery.