Cobbs Creek
Encyclopedia
Cobbs Creek is an 11.8 miles (19 km) tributary
of Darby Creek
in Delaware County
, Pennsylvania
in the United States
. It forms an approximate border between Montgomery County
and Delaware County
. After Cobbs Creek passes underneath Township Line Road (U.S. Route 1
), it forms the border between Philadelphia
County and Delaware County. It later joins Darby Creek
before flowing into the Delaware River
.
had built during 1645. It was the first water mill built within the limits of Pennsylvania. Its site may still be seen at the rocks on the east bank of the stream near the Blue Bell Inn on the road from Philadelphia to Darby
. There were a few mills established around the portion of the river located along Karakung Drive in Haverford Township. Nitre Hall Powder Mills were built in the early 19th century along Cobb’s Creek on Karakung Drive. It was a center for manufacture for almost 200 years.
System, the largest urban park in the country. Cobbs Creek Park contains three playgrounds: Cobbs Creek Recreation Center at Cobbs Creek Parkway and Spruce Street, Granahan playground at 65th and Callowhill streets, and Charles Papa Playground, a part of Morris Park in Overbrook
, just north of Cobbs Creek Golf Course. For many in West Philadelphia
, Cobbs Creek is the primary hiking and recreation attraction, offering swimming, golf, ball fields, tracks, tennis and basketball courts, ice and roller hockey rinks, and campgrounds. The park and its numerous picnic spaces are popular with families during summer weekends and holidays for picnics, barbecues, reunions
and parties.
and Upper Darby children, Cobbs Creek is their first introduction to wooded greenspaces and freshwater ecosystems. Local schools run service learning activities to support conservation in the creek and surrounding parks; e.g., conducting water-quality studies to track pollution. The wildlife includes regional birds, raccoons, opossums, spotted deer, wild turkey, rabbits, and in recent history, even a mountain lion.
Plans for an expressway up the Cobbs Creek valley began as early as 1930. Anticipated as part of a five-mile parkway system around Philadelphia, Cobbs Creek Expressway, designated I-695
, would have begun at I-95 near Essington and connected with another expressway at Whitby Avenue in West Philadelphia. The proposals were abandoned in the mid-1970s after community objections.
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of Darby Creek
Darby Creek (Pennsylvania)
thumb|Darby Creek where it crosses [[Pennsylvania Route 320|Route 320]] in [[Marple Township, Pennsylvania|Marple Township]]Darby Creek is a creek in Delaware County, Pennsylvania...
in Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It forms an approximate border between Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
and Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
. After Cobbs Creek passes underneath Township Line Road (U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs 2,377 miles from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border south to Key West, Florida. U.S. 1 generally parallels Interstate 95, though it is significantly farther west between...
), it forms the border between Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
County and Delaware County. It later joins Darby Creek
Darby Creek (Pennsylvania)
thumb|Darby Creek where it crosses [[Pennsylvania Route 320|Route 320]] in [[Marple Township, Pennsylvania|Marple Township]]Darby Creek is a creek in Delaware County, Pennsylvania...
before flowing into the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
.
History
Cobbs Creek used to be called "Karakung" by Native Americans. This was the site of the historic Old Swede's Mill on the Karakong Kill which Governor Johan Printz, governor of New SwedenNew Sweden
New Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
had built during 1645. It was the first water mill built within the limits of Pennsylvania. Its site may still be seen at the rocks on the east bank of the stream near the Blue Bell Inn on the road from Philadelphia to Darby
Darby, Pennsylvania
Darby is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, along Darby Creek southwest of downtown Philadelphia. It has a public library founded in 1743 and a cemetery more than 300 years old. The Quakers lived there early in the colonial era. Darby was settled about 1660 and was...
. There were a few mills established around the portion of the river located along Karakung Drive in Haverford Township. Nitre Hall Powder Mills were built in the early 19th century along Cobb’s Creek on Karakung Drive. It was a center for manufacture for almost 200 years.
Recreation
Where Cobbs Creek borders Philadelphia, it is surrounded by Cobbs Creek Park; a major section of Philadelphia's Fairmount ParkFairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
System, the largest urban park in the country. Cobbs Creek Park contains three playgrounds: Cobbs Creek Recreation Center at Cobbs Creek Parkway and Spruce Street, Granahan playground at 65th and Callowhill streets, and Charles Papa Playground, a part of Morris Park in Overbrook
Overbrook, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Overbrook is a neighborhood northwest of West Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The area contains an assortment of housing from large, old homes to row homes to 3-4 story apartment buildings.-Physical setting:...
, just north of Cobbs Creek Golf Course. For many in West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and...
, Cobbs Creek is the primary hiking and recreation attraction, offering swimming, golf, ball fields, tracks, tennis and basketball courts, ice and roller hockey rinks, and campgrounds. The park and its numerous picnic spaces are popular with families during summer weekends and holidays for picnics, barbecues, reunions
Family reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family get together. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year....
and parties.
Community impact
For many West PhiladelphiaWest Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and...
and Upper Darby children, Cobbs Creek is their first introduction to wooded greenspaces and freshwater ecosystems. Local schools run service learning activities to support conservation in the creek and surrounding parks; e.g., conducting water-quality studies to track pollution. The wildlife includes regional birds, raccoons, opossums, spotted deer, wild turkey, rabbits, and in recent history, even a mountain lion.
Plans for an expressway up the Cobbs Creek valley began as early as 1930. Anticipated as part of a five-mile parkway system around Philadelphia, Cobbs Creek Expressway, designated I-695
Interstate 695 (Pennsylvania)
Interstate 695 was a proposed three-digit Interstate Highway that would have connected Interstate 95 in Southeast Philadelphia, at the Philadelphia International Airport, with I-95 near the Delaware River waterfront near the Benjamin Franklin Bridge...
, would have begun at I-95 near Essington and connected with another expressway at Whitby Avenue in West Philadelphia. The proposals were abandoned in the mid-1970s after community objections.
Tributaries
- Naylors Run Creek, runs underground in Upper Darby from Sherbrook Blvd. to Walnut Park Drive, where it drains into Cobbs Creek. Thousands of feet of Naylor's Run were channeled into underground culverts to facilitate commercial and residential development in the filled land above the pipes.
- Indian Creek, originating near Montgomery County at Rt.1 running to the Haddington neighborhood of Philadelphia, the east and west branches of Indian Creek joined in what is now Morris Park, at the intersection of 69th Street and Haverford and Lansdowne Avenues. The most notable feature here being the Cobbs Creek Golf Course and Karakung Golf Course.
- Thomas Run Creek, obliterated and converted into a sewer, the largest tributary of Cobbs Creek once ran from about 53rd and Walnut streets, meeting Cobbs Creek around 60th Street.
- Paschall Creek
- Mingo Creek