| Troublesome Creek | |
| Name Other: | Tributary to Haw River |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA North Carolina#USA |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Troublesome Creek mouth |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | Map of Troublesome Creek mouth location |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | North Carolina |
| Subdivision Type3: | County |
| Subdivision Name3: | Rockingham Guilford |
| Subdivision Type4: | City |
| Subdivision Name4: | Stokesdale |
| Length: | 23.67miles[1] |
| Discharge1 Location: | Haw River |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 65.59cuft/s at mouth with Haw River[2] |
| Source1: | divide between Troublesome Creek and Belews Creek |
| Source1 Location: | Stokesdale, North Carolina |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 36.2469°N -79.9936°W[3] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 960feet[4] |
| Mouth: | Haw River |
| Mouth Location: | about 5 miles south of Reidsville, North Carolina |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 36.2658°N -79.6431°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 653feet |
| Progression: | Haw River → Cape Fear River → Atlantic Ocean |
| River System: | Haw River |
| Tributaries Left: | unnamed tributaries |
| Tributaries Right: | unnamed tributaries |
| Waterbodies: | Lake Reidsville |
| Bridges: | NC 68, US 220, Price Mill Road, Haynes Road, Hudson Road, Witty Road, Woolen Store Road, Monroeton Road, US 158, McCoy Road, US 29 Business, US 29 |
Troublesome Creek is a 23.67miles long 3rd order tributary to the Haw River, in Rockingham County, North Carolina.
According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as:[3]
Troublesome Creek was the location of Native American activity (Cheraw Indians)[5] in the Middle Archaic period and may have been the location of the first European settlement in Rockingham County, North Carolina.[6] The watershed was the site of the Troublesome Creek Iron Works, also known as Speedwell Furnace. Established in 1770, it is considered one of the earliest colonial ironworks.[7] General Nathaniel Greene also camped here during the Guilford Courthouse campaign in 1781.[8] President George Washington also later visited the ironworks in 1791.[8]
Troublesome Creek rises in the City of Stokesdale in Guilford County on the divide between Troublesome Creek and Belews Creek (Dan River). Troublesome Creek then flows northeast into Rockingham County and then southeast to meet the Haw River about 5 miles south of Reidsville, North Carolina.[4] Lake Reidsville is an impoundment of this stream.
Troublesome Creek drains of area, receives about 46.5 in/year of precipitation, has a topographic wetness index of 426.23 and is about 42% forested.[2]
The Rockingham County Natural Heritage Inventory[9] recognized three locations in the Troublesome Creek watershed, all of which are county significant. These include 1) Bottomlands of Troublesome Creek, 2) Troublesome Creek Marsh, and 3) Warf Airfield Marsh.