Yellow Creek is a tributary of the

Pecatonica River The Pecatonica River is a tributary of the Rock River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois in the United States ...

in Stephenson County, in the US state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. The stream also flows through a small part of

Jo Daviess County Jo Daviess County () is the northwesternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 22,678. Its county seat is Galena. Jo Daviess County is part of the Tri-State Area and is located near D ...

. The waters of Yellow Creek were assessed for water quality in 1996, with being listed as "fair" and being listed as "good". During the 1832

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", cross ...

, the Battle of Waddams Grove was fought along Yellow Creek.

Course

Yellow Creek is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

within the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

and is considered a major stream within that system.Pecatonica River Watershed
Watersheds of Illinois – 1996, ''Illinois Environmental Protection Agency''. Retrieved October 4, 2007.The

watershed covers in Winnebago,

Stephenson Stephenson is a medieval patronymic surname meaning "son of Stephen". The earliest public record is found in the county of Huntingdonshire in 1279. There are variant spellings including Stevenson. People with the surname include: * Ashley Steph ...

, Jo Daviess and Carroll counties in Illinois. The largest city within the drainage basin is Freeport. See "Pecatonica River Watershed." Most of its course is through Stephenson County, Illinois, but a small part of the stream flows into

, in extreme northwestern Illinois.Pecatonica River Watershed – Figure 7
" (

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

), Map: Listed Waters 2002, ''Illinois Environmental Protection Agency''. Retrieved October 4, 2007. The stream's source is at 42°25′10″N 89°53′52″W and its mouth is at 42°17′23″N 89°34′10″W.

History

During the 1832

, a conflict between Sauk Chief Black Hawk's

British Band The British Band was a mixed-nation group of Native Americans commanded by the Sauk leader Black Hawk, which fought against Illinois and Michigan Territory militias during the 1832 Black Hawk War. The band was composed of about 1,500 men, wome ...

and settlers in

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

and the state of Illinois, the Battle of Waddams Grove occurred near Yellow Creek. After a number of Native American raids in the area,

James W. Stephenson James W. Stephenson (1806–August 1838) was an American militia officer and politician from the state of Illinois. He was born in Virginia but spent most of his youth in Edwardsville, Illinois. In 1825 he was indicted for the murder of a fa ...

raised a group of volunteers and set out in search of the raiders. Trask, Kerry A.
Black Hawk: The Battle for the Heart of America
', (

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

), Henry Holt: 2006, pp. 220–221, (). Retrieved July 31, 2007. Stephenson caught up with the band of Native Americans on June 18, 1832, in an open area near Yellow Creek, about east of Kellogg's Grove, Illinois. The battlefield itself is believed to be located along the Yellow Creek northwest of William Waddams' original land claims north of the present day unincorporated town of

Waddams Grove, Illinois Waddams Grove, previously known as Wadam's, Waddam's Grove, and Sada, is an unincorporated community in the Stephenson County township of West Point, Illinois, United States. Waddams Grove was the first settlement in Stephenson County. It is loc ...

.Carter, Greg.
Captain Stephenson's Fight
" May 2004, ''Old Lead Historical Society''. Retrieved July 31, 2007.

Water quality

A total of of the stream's waters were identified as "good" and were designated as "fair" by the

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) of the state of Illinois is the primary body concerned with the protection of the environment for the state. The Illinois EPA's mission is "to safeguard environmental quality, consistent ...

in 1996. Water quality problems in Yellow Creek stem from nutrient run off as a byproduct of agriculture. In

Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the county seat and largest city of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is known for hosting the second Linc ...

the Yellow Creek Watershed Partnership was established "to improve the health and diversity of Yellow Creek and its watershed".Our Message
''Yellow Creek Watershed Partnership'', official site. Retrieved October 4, 2007.

Notes

{{authority control Rivers of Illinois Rivers of Stephenson County, Illinois Rivers of Jo Daviess County, Illinois Black Hawk War