Murderers Creek Mudenaer's Creek, Mudder Creek | |
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Location | |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
Region | Hudson Valley |
County | Greene |
Towns | Athens, New York, |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Sleepy Hollow Lake |
• location | Athens, New York |
• coordinates | 42°16′51.80″N73°48′22.40″W / 42.2810556°N 73.8062222°W |
Mouth | Hudson River at Athens, New York |
• location | Athens, New York |
• coordinates | 42°16′20.00″N73°48′4.00″W / 42.2722222°N 73.8011111°W |
Length | 0.68 mi (1.09 km) |
Basin features | |
River system | Hudson River |
Murderers Creek (or Murderer's Creek) is a creek in upstate New York, United States, that flows into the Hudson River in Greene County, New York, just north of the town of Athens. It should not be confused with Moodna Creek, which is in Orange County and is also sometimes called "Murderer's Creek".
The first reference to the name "Murderer's Kill" is from July 18, 1673 in a deed of land to Wyntje Harmense. [1] First governmental reference to the creek is in the New York State Act of March 7, 1788, as "...at the South Bank of the Mouth of the Murderer’s-Kill, at Lunenburgh" (Lunenburgh was the original name of Athens). [2] The name is thought to derive from Middle Dutch, "Mother's Creek", moeder and kille. It may have also been from the Middle Dutch modder meaning "muddy" similar to the river of the same name in Delaware, although the possessive apostrophe indicates otherwise.
In 1813, the body of a young woman named Sally Hamilton was found in the creek about half a mile north of its mouth. Local lore has it that the modern name of the creek originated from this event. Although the name predated the event by 140 years. [3]
New Sweden was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great power, New Sweden formed part of the Swedish efforts to colonize the Americas.
The Mohawk River is a 149-mile-long (240 km) river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in Cohoes, New York, a few miles north of the state capital of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. A major waterway, in the early 19th century, the river's east-west valley provided the setting and water for development of the Erie Canal, as a key to developing New York. The largest tributary, the Schoharie Creek, accounts for over one quarter (26.83%) of the Mohawk River's watershed. Another main tributary is the West Canada Creek, which makes up for 16.33% of the Mohawk's watershed.
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary between Staten Island, New York, and Union and Middlesex counties, New Jersey. It is a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey.
A kill is a body of water, most commonly a creek, but also a tidal inlet, river, strait, or arm of the sea. The term is derived from the Middle Dutch kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel". It is found in areas of Dutch influence in the Netherlands' former North American colony of New Netherland, primarily the Hudson and Delaware Valleys.
The Murderkill River is a river flowing to Delaware Bay in central Delaware in the United States. It is approximately 21.7 miles (34.9 km) long and drains an area of 106 square miles (270 km2) on the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
Moodna Creek is a small tributary of the Hudson River that drains eastern Orange County, New York. At 15.5 miles (25 km) in length from its source at the confluence of Cromline Creek and Otter Kill west of Washingtonville, it is the longest stream located entirely within the county.
Muddy Kill is a 4.2-mile-long (6.8 km) tributary of the Wallkill River that runs entirely through the town of Montgomery in Orange County, New York, United States. It rises from a small pond just over a mile (1.7 km) west of the village of Walden, flowing first southwesterly then roughly due south to empty into the Wallkill just upstream from the village of Montgomery.
Mount Sherrill is a mountain located in Greene County, New York, and is named after Eliakim Sherrill, and is part of the Catskill Mountains. Mount Sherrill is flanked to the east by North Dome, and to the west by Balsam Mountain.
The Sawkill or Saw-kill was the largest hydrological network on Manhattan island in New York City before the Dutch colony of New Netherland was founded in 1624. This 44,980-foot-long (13,710 m) stream began "within four blocks of the Hudson River":
A rill flowing east from the rocky ridge overlooking Bloomingdale Village, which rose near Ninth Avenue and 85th Street, flowed in a southerly direction through Manhattan Square, where it spread into a little pond, and then turned east, crossing Central Park to Fifth Avenue, receiving three tributaries within its limits, two from the north and one from the south. At 75th Street near Third Avenue it was joined by another stream. Near this junction the old Boston Post Road crossed it, and then from this point, the stream ran due east to its outlet near the foot of 75th Street
The Poesten Kill is a 26.2-mile-long (42.2 km) creek in Rensselaer County, Upstate New York. It flows westerly from its source at Dyken Pond, located in the town of Berlin, to its mouth at the Hudson River in the city of Troy. The creek was historically used as a source of water for the local farmers and residents. During the Industrial Revolution, the creek became an important source of water power, and many mills and factories sprung up along its banks.
Catskill Creek is a 46.0-mile-long (74.0 km) tributary of the Hudson River that drains the northeastern Catskill Mountains of the U.S. State of New York. From its source at Franklinton Vlaie in Schoharie County it flows southeast through parts of Albany County and Greene County to its mouth at the village of Catskill on the Hudson River.
The Sawyer Kill or Sawyer's Kill is a 7.0-mile-long (11.3 km) tributary stream of the Hudson River in New York state. The source is at the Great Vlaie on the border of Ulster and Greene counties. The stream enters the Hudson River at Seamon Park in Malden, New York, just north of the village of Saugerties.
The Normans Kill is a 45.4-mile-long (73.1 km) creek in New York's Capital District located in Schenectady and Albany counties. It flows southeasterly from its source in the town of Duanesburg near Delanson to its mouth at the Hudson River in the town of Bethlehem. In the town of Guilderland, the stream is dammed to create the Watervliet Reservoir, a drinking water source for the city of Watervliet and the Town of Guilderland. A one megawatt hydrolectric plant at the dam provides power to pump water to the filtration plant.
Hannacrois Creek is a 20.9-mile-long (33.6 km) tributary to the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. From its source in Westerlo it flows through Dunbar Hollows and over Dickinson Falls to the Alcove Reservoir. It then passes through Coeymans Hollow and just into Greene County to its mouth at the Hudson River in Coeymans, New York.
Kinderhook Creek is a 49.0-mile-long (78.9 km) tributary to Stockport Creek, an inlet of the Hudson River in the United States. From its source in Hancock, Massachusetts, the creek runs southwest through the Taconic Mountains into Rensselaer County, New York, and then into Columbia County. It flows through the towns of Stephentown, New Lebanon, Nassau, Chatham, Kinderhook and Stuyvesant to its mouth at Stockport Creek in the town of Stockport.
Athens is a village in Greene County, New York, United States, with 1,586 people in the 2020 census. It is named after the classical city of Athens and is the eastern part of the town of Athens, across the Hudson River from the city of Hudson.
East Kill, a 16-mile-long (26 km) tributary of Schoharie Creek, flows across the town of Jewett, New York, United States, from its source on Stoppel Point. Ultimately its waters reach the Hudson River via the Mohawk. Since it drains into the Schoharie upstream of Schoharie Reservoir, it is part of the New York City water supply system. East Kill drains the southern slopes of the Blackhead Mountains, which include Thomas Cole Mountain, Black Dome, and Blackhead Mountain, the fourth-, third-, and fifth-highest peaks in the Catskills, respectively.
The West Kill, an 11-mile-long (18 km) tributary of Schoharie Creek, flows through the town of Lexington, New York, United States, from its source on Hunter Mountain, the second-highest peak of the Catskill Mountains. Ultimately its waters reach the Hudson River via the Mohawk. Since it drains into the Schoharie upstream of Schoharie Reservoir, it is part of the New York City water supply system. It lends its name to both a mountain to its south and a small town midway along its length.
Batavia Kill is a 21-mile-long (34 km) tributary of Schoharie Creek, that flows across the towns of Windham, Ashland and Prattsville in the U.S. state of New York. Its waters reach the Hudson River via Schoharie Creek and the Mohawk River. Since it drains into the Schoharie upstream of Schoharie Reservoir, it is part of the New York City water supply system. From the source to Maplecrest, Batavia Kill drains the northern slopes of the Blackhead Mountains, which include Thomas Cole Mountain, Black Dome, and Blackhead Mountain, the fourth-, third-, and fifth-highest peaks in the Catskills, respectively.
The Jan Van Loon House is one of the oldest extant buildings in New York State. It is located in Athens, New York at 39 South Washington Street. It is inside the Village of Athens Multiple Resource Area (MRA) and the Athens Lower Village Historic District. It was built by Jan Van Loon, who fathered eight children including Albertus Van Loon. Van Loon was a blacksmith by trade, but was also known to work in silver.