Rock Creek | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Pennsylvania |
Region | Adams County |
Townships | West: Cumberland, East: Mount Joy & Straban |
Cities | Gettysburg, PA, Barlow, PA |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Susquehanna drainage divide |
Mouth | Monocacy River |
Basin size | 65 sq mi (170 km2) [2] |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | coordinates shown right-justified |
• right | coordinates shown left-justified |
Namesakes | Civil War: Rock Creek Rangers |
Rock Creek is an 18.9-mile-long (30.4 km) [3] tributary of the Monocacy River in south-central Pennsylvania and serves as the border between Cumberland and Mount Joy townships. Rock Creek was used by the Underground Railroad (at McAllister's Mill, "slaves would slosh through the water to throw off the tracking dogs that were pursuing them") [4] and flows near several Gettysburg Battlefield sites, including Culp's Hill, the Benner Hill artillery location, and Barlow Knoll.
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link) at confluence point (Rock Creek west bank and Marsh Creek north bank) at water level & at base of 8 foot embankment)
McAllister's Old Grist Mill … housed an Underground Railroad hideout.
1841.--Contract with John Camp, for a covered bridge of two spans of 60 feet each, across Rock creek, at Horner's mill, on the Taneytown road--dated January 4, 1841; price $2,000. Commissioners, Daniel Diehl, Joseph J. Kuhn and William Douglass. This bridge was swept away by a flood about a year ago, and has since been replaced by another of the same character, on foundations several feet higher.
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The report of viewers to view bridge site over Rock creek at the place where the public highway leading from the Gettysburg and Taneytown road to the Baltimore pike, crosses said creek on the line of the townships of Cumberland and Mountjoy, was confirmed nisi. The report was favorable to a bridge.(column 4)
in the spring of 1923 they tore down the old covered bridge [and] erected a temporary bridge, up the creek… Mrs Heintzelman was in the [former miller] house busy baking. …carried her up to the…store… the cat was on the sewing machine and the dog on the table. …the oven door open and now the pies were floating around in the kitchen. … The flooding…broke up the temporary bridge. …formed a dam [into] the new bridgeconstruction
The present structure at Barlow is a girder bridge of two fifty-five foot spans. It was built more than 70 years ago, according to the Commissioners. At one time 52 years ago, the structure was washed away from its moorings and carried on a much-swollen Rock Creek for a distance of half a mile. It was brought back; a few additions were made and only slight repairs have been made since that time. The bridge now has a roadway 16 feet wide. This is to be increased to 20 feet and all abutments and piles are to be reinforced with concrete
The breakup of ice on the creek had carried away 10 telephone pole props the highway department had used to bolster the 96 foot section. ... Twenty or more years ago...a concrete pier was built in the middle of the span
Blocher's Knoll had a distinct disadvantage. Though the swollen Rock Creek itself was a barrier of sorts, the trees along that stream as well as Blocher's Run would give cover to advancing soldiers. Barlow sought to balance that by sending four companies of the 17th Connecticut across the bridge to the Josiah Benner homestead on the far side of Rock Creek. They were there as skirmishers to blunt the advance of Gordon's troops and alert their comrades.
Rock Creek Church…located one mile north of the future town of Gettysburg (located near the junction of Carlisle Street and the Mummasburg Road)