Margaret Creek facts for kids
Margaret Creek is a stream in Ohio, USA. It flows through Athens and Meigs Counties. This creek is an important branch of the Hocking River. It joins the Hocking River on the west side of Athens city. The creek was named after Margaret Snowden. She was the first white woman to settle in Athens County.
Contents
History of Margaret Creek
Early Settlements and Farming
Long ago, between the years 1 and 1000 AD, people started moving closer to rivers and floodplains. They settled in places like the area around Margaret Creek. The Allen Site, located near the creek, was home to villages between 600 and 1300 AD. These villages had homes on both sides of the creek. They also had a special area where people made pottery for the community.
Scientists studied wood and plant remains from the site. They found that these settlements were mostly from the late Late Woodland time. They were also connected to the early Fort Ancient culture. The discovery of corn (maize) shows that these people were mostly farmers. Their diet relied a lot on the crops they grew.
Pioneers and Mills
In 1798, many early settlers came to Athens and Alexander township. Among them were Joseph and Margaret Snowden. The creek was named in Margaret's honor. Another early pioneer in the Midwest was Isaac Coe. He farmed land next to Margaret Creek for several years.
John and Moses Hewitt were known for moving large boats called "broadhorns." They would pole these boats up the Hocking River to Margaret Creek. In 1800, John Hewitt built the first watermill on Margaret Creek. It was about a mile upstream from where the creek joins the Hocking River.
Building Dams and Lakes
In the mid-1960s, a group called the Margaret’s Creek Watershed Conservancy District started working with the Division of Wildlife. They began buying land to build a dam. The dam was built between 1967 and 1968. The Margaret Creek Conservancy District Reservoir is located at 39°15′03″N 82°07′24″W / 39.2508019°N 82.1234181°W.
Another structure, Margaret Creek Structure No. 6, was finished in 1967. The Hocking Conservancy District owns it. Its main purposes are to control floods and provide places for recreation. Lake Snowden was created in 1970. This happened after a branch of Margaret Creek was dammed to help prevent floods. Besides Lake Snowden, other lakes in the Margaret Creek Conservancy include Meeks Lake and Fox Lake.
Geography of Margaret Creek
Creek Flow and Features
Long ago, the Athens basin area drained into the valley at the mouth of Margaret Creek. The Hocking River's flow likely caused a lot of erosion in the Athens Valley. This erosion probably happened as the river tried to follow a path down to the Margaret Creek Valley. The Albany Valley, which is now the headwater area for Margaret Creek, flows south into the Margaret Creek Valley. Margaret Creek then flows into the Hocking River.
Margaret Creek is about 50 feet (15 meters) wide. It drains water from the eastern and northeastern parts of Lee Township.
The hillsides around the creek have gentle slopes. They are covered with a thick layer of soil. There are not many places where rocks stick out of the ground. You can find minerals like Hematite and Siderite near Margaret Creek.
