Quantico Creek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Quantico Creek |
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Quantico Creek in Prince William Forest Park
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| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia |
| County | Prince William County |
| Physical characteristics | |
| River mouth | Potomac River 0 feet (0 m) |
| Length | 13.7 miles (22.0 km) |
Quantico Creek is a river in Virginia, in the United States. It is about 13.7 miles (22 kilometers) long. The creek starts near a place called Independent Hill. It flows through Prince William Forest Park and the town of Dumfries. Finally, it joins the big Potomac River at Possum Point. Part of Quantico Creek is affected by the ocean's tides.
Contents
History of Quantico Creek
Early Days and Names
In 1608, a famous explorer named John Smith explored this area. He wrote about a Native American community called Pamacocack living by Quantico Creek. This community was part of the Doeg tribe.
Over time, the creek's name was spelled in many different ways. Some old records show names like Quancico, Quanticotte, and Quanticoke.
Settlers and Trade
Around 1690, a settler named Richard Gibson built a gristmill on Quantico Creek. A gristmill uses water power to grind grain into flour. Later, people from Scotland came and built a town and port called Dumfries. This port was important for shipping tobacco. Tobacco was a very valuable crop in Virginia back then.
Farmers cleared the land around the creek to grow tobacco and other crops like cotton. These crops were then shipped from the port of Dumfries. But growing so many crops caused the soil to wash into the creek. This made the creek shallower, a process called silting.
Mining and Pollution
In the mid-1800s, people started mining near the creek. There was the Greenwood Gold Mine, where they looked for gold. There was also the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine, which dug for pyrite.
These mines caused a lot of pollution in the creek. The pyrite mine released chemicals that made the water very acidic, like vinegar. The gold mine used mercury, which is a dangerous chemical, to get the gold out of the rock.
Cleaning Up the Creek
Luckily, a lot of work has been done to clean up the areas around both mines. This has helped make the creek and its surroundings much healthier. Today, the mines are no longer working.
Because of all the silt, boats cannot travel on most of Quantico Creek anymore. Much of the land around the creek is now part of Prince William Forest Park. A power plant at Possum Point uses water from the creek to help cool its machines.
Communities Along the Creek
Many towns and communities are located near Quantico Creek. Some of these towns are still active, while others no longer exist. Here are some of the communities, listed from where the creek starts to where it meets the Potomac River:
- Independent Hill
- Hickory Ridge (This town no longer exists)
- Batestown (This town no longer exists)
- Triangle
- Dumfries
- Quantico, which is home to the Marine Corps Base Quantico
