Haycock Creek (Tohickon Creek tributary) explained

Haycock Creek
Pushpin Map:USA Pennsylvania
Pushpin Map Size:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Haycock Creek
Pushpin Map Alt:pushpin map showing location of Haycock Creek
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:United States
Subdivision Type2:State
Subdivision Name2:Pennsylvania
Subdivision Type3:County
Subdivision Name3:Bucks
Subdivision Type4:Township
Subdivision Name4:Springfield, Haycock, Nockamixon
Length:3.18miles
Source1 Elevation:590feet
Mouth Elevation:394feet
Progression:Haycock Creek → Lake NockamixonTohickon CreekDelaware RiverDelaware Bay
River System:Delaware River
Basin Size:9.88sqmi
Basin Landmarks:Haycock Mountain
Waterbodies:Lake Nockamixon
Bridges:Winding Road
School Road
Stony Garden Road
Haycock Run Road
Church Road
Pennsylvania Route 563 (Mountain View Drive)

Haycock Creek is a tributary of the Tohickon Creek in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is part of the Delaware River watershed.

History

The area surrounding Haycock Creek was first inhabited by the Lenape people. After the arrival of Europeans, the first to purchase land in the area was John Anderson. The first settler was Edward McCarty who purchased land from Thomas and John Penn. Descendants of McCarty occupied mostly the Nockamixon Township side of Haycock Creek. The Frankenfield family were early landowners on the Haycock Township side. As early as 1742 Jesuit fathers from Goshenhoppen began to hold services at McCarty's house and continued until 1798 when the Saint John the Baptist parish was established, the first Catholic Church was built for $150 on land donated by Edward McCarty's nephew John. The current building was constructed in 1854.[1]

Statistics

Haycock Creek's GNIS (United States Geological Survey) identification number is 1209301, its Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources identification number is 03154. The stream is about 5miles long, has a watershed of 9.88sqmi, and meets its confluence in Lake Nockamixon at the Tohickon Creek's 11.20 river mile.

Course

Haycock Creek rises at an elevation of 590feet in Springfield Township northeast of the intersection of Winding Road and Mink Road and flows to the southeast. It then becomes the border of Haycock and Nockamixon Townships until it meets the lake at an elevation of 394feet. Its confluence with the Tohickon in the lake is the four corners of Bedminster, Haycock, Nockamixon, and Tinicum Townships. It has four tributaries, two from the right and two from the left banks. With a length of 3.18miles, Haycock Creek has an average slope of 61.64 feet per mile (11.72 meters per kilometer).

Geology

The Brunswick Formation is a sedimentary layer of rock consisting of mudstone, siltstone, and beds of green, brown, and red-brown shale. Mineralogy consists of argillite and hornfels. About 200 million years ago, magma intruded into the Brunswick and cooled quickly forming a fine grained diabase consisting of primarily labradorite and augite. Haycock Mountain (on the right bank of the creek) and several other features in the area are remnants of the intrusion after the Brunswick has eroded away over time. The first one-third or so if Haycock Creek's course is located in a region of diabase rock which intruded into the local sedimentary layers of the Brunswick Formation during the Jurassic and the Triassic, then the remaining course flows over the Brunswick Formation.[2]

Crossings and Bridges

Crossing NBI Number Length Lanes Spans Material/Design Built Reconstructed LatitudeLongitude
Pennsylvania Route 563 (Mountain View Drive)705849m (161feet)23Prestressed concrete Box beam or girders - single or spread197240°29'28.4"N75°11'31.8"W
Church Road758014m (46feet)21Concrete Tee Beam192840°30'5.1"N75°12'19.4"W
Haycock Run Road755710m (30feet)11Steel stringer/multi-beam or girder1930198840°30'49.7"N75°13'15.2"W
Stony Garden Road745111m (36feet)22Masonry Arch-Deck40°31'3"N75°13'59"W
School Road
Winding Road

Notes and References

  1. MacReynolds, George, Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P1.
  2. Web site: Pennsylvania Geological Survey . https://web.archive.org/web/20140411084629/http://www.gis.dcnr.state.pa.us/geology/index.html . dead . April 11, 2014 . PaGEODE . Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources . 10 December 2017.