Muckinipattis Creek or Muckinipates (Muckinapates) Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed April 1, 2011 creek which runs through

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the List of counties in Pennsylv ...

and enters Darby Creek just prior to the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

. The creek is believed to begin with two branches, one in Springfield Township and the other on the southwest corner of Springfield Road and Bishop Avenue. The Muckinipattis then proceeds past the Primos-Secane swim club in Upper Darby Township. Further downstream it flows under the former A&P parking lot in

Secane Secane is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, Ridley Township and Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United State ...

before forming the border of Darby and

Ridley Ridley may refer to: Education * Ridley College (Ontario), a university preparatory boarding and day school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada * Ridley College (Melbourne), an evangelical theological college in Melbourne, Australia * Rid ...

townships. It empties into Darby Creek between the shores of Montgomery Park in the borough of Folcroft and the historic Morton Morton House in Norwood. The name ''Muckinipates'' derives from a

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

word meaning 'deep running water'. The Otter and Turtle tribes within the

Lenni Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historical territory included present-day northeastern Del ...

nation lived and hunted along the creek, and had a small village on what today is Montgomery Park in Folcroft. The Old Mill, or Old Mill Dam (known by locals as 'The Falls'), which today sits at the junction of Delmar Drive in Folcroft, South Avenue in Glenolden, and East Amosland in Norwood was built in 1775 by Thomas Shipley. The

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

was popular among grain farmers from as far away as

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, who would operate barges called "one stickers" up the Muckinipattis to have their goods processed. The mill was at one time owned by John Morton, grandson of Morton Mortensen, and the deciding vote on the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. The mill was sold and re-purposed a number of times. It was a

bobbin A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measures ...

factory when it finally burned down in February 1899. The confluence of Muckinipattis Creek with Darby Creek is next to the

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum is a 1000-acre (4.05 km2) National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Tinicum Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania. ...

References

{{authority control Rivers of Pennsylvania Rivers of Delaware County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Darby Creek (Pennsylvania)

Further reading

References