McElroy Creek is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...

Middle Island Creek Middle Island Creek is a river, 77 miles (124 km) long, in northwestern West Virginia in the United States. It is a tributary of the Ohio River, draining an area of 565 square miles (1,463 km2) on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. It ...

, long, in northern

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Via Middle Island Creek and the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

, it is part of the

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey.

National Hydrography Dataset The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a digital database of surface water features used to make maps. It contains features such as lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, canals, dams, and stream gauges for the United States. Description Cartogra ...

. Area data for McElroy Creek watershed, 10-digit

Hydrologic Unit Code A hydrological code or hydrologic unit code is a sequence of numbers or letters (a ''geocode'') that identify a hydrological unit or feature, such as a river, river reach, lake, or area like a drainage basin (also called watershed in North Americ ...

0503020103
The National Map
, retrieved 2013-07-17 in a rural region on the

unglaciated A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often cen ...

portion of the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau ( ) is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided into the unglacia ...

Geography

McElroy Creek is formed near the unincorporated community of Center Point in northern Doddridge County by the confluence of two streams: * the Robinson Fork, long, which rises in Doddridge County approximately northwest of the city of Salem and flows northward and northwestward, through Sedalia * the Pike Fork, long, which rises in Doddridge County approximately northeast of Sedalia and flows westward. A short distance downstream of this confluence, it collects a third significant headwaters tributary, the Talkington Fork. From Center Point, McElroy Creek flows generally westward into eastern Tyler County, through the unincorporated community of

Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsċ'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

in Doddridge County and the unincorporated communities of Little Pittsburg and Shirley in Tyler County, collecting Flint Run, its largest tributary, on the boundary of Doddridge and Tyler Counties. It flows into Middle Island Creek from the east, a short distance southwest of the community of Tyler. The creek is paralleled by

West Virginia Route 23 West Virginia Route 23 is a north–south state highway in the northern portion of the U.S. state of West Virginia. The northern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 18 in Tyler, Tyler County. The southern terminus is at old U. ...

for most of its course. According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...

, the creek has also been known historically by the spelling "McElroys Creek."

History

The earliest white settler on McElroy Creek — and its namesake — was John McElroy who was killed by Indians near where it discharges into Middle Island Creek. This was likely in the early 1790s, as the natives had effectively been expelled by 1795. The "Three Forks of McElroy Creek" (near present Center Point) were first settled in 1812 by brothers Joshua Allen (1787-1867) and Israel Allen (1792-1853).''Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia'', Vol. 2;

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

: H. H. Hardesty, 1883. (Reprinted, Richwood: Comstock, ''Hardesty West Virginia Counties'', 8 vols., 1973.) This was then in District 19 of Harrison (later Doddridge) County. The district was renamed McClellan District after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

References

{{authority control Rivers of West Virginia Rivers of Tyler County, West Virginia Rivers of Doddridge County, West Virginia Tributaries of Middle Island Creek

Geography

History

See also

References