Irondequoit Creek is a stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

 in eastern Monroe County, New York

Monroe County, New York

Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....

 that feeds Irondequoit Bay

Irondequoit Bay

Irondequoit Bay is a large body of water located in northeastern Monroe County, New York. The bay, roughly wide and in length, is fed by Irondequoit Creek to the south and flows into Lake Ontario at its northern end...

. It actually begins in rural West Bloomfield

West Bloomfield, New York

West Bloomfield is a town in Ontario County, New York, USA. The population was 2,549 at the 2000 census.The Town of West Bloomfield is on the county's western border and is south of the City of Rochester.- History :...

 in Ontario County

Ontario County, New York

As of the census of 2000, there were 100,224 people, 38,370 households, and 26,360 families residing in the county. The population density was 156 people per square mile . There were 42,647 housing units at an average density of 66 per square mile...

, flowing north into the town of Mendon

Mendon, New York

Mendon is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States, and an affluent suburb of Rochester, New York. The population was 9,152 at the 2010 census.The Town of Mendon is on the south border of the county...

 in Monroe County. Accumulating a few small tributaries, it twists eastward back into the Ontario County town of Victor

Victor (town), New York

Victor is a town in Ontario County, New York, USA. The population was 9,977 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Claudius Victor Boughton, a hero of the War of 1812.The Town of Victor contains a village, also called Victor...

, then back north into Monroe County, where it flows through the towns of Perinton

Perinton, New York

Perinton is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 46,090 at the 2000 census.The Village of Fairport, New York is within the town on the Erie Canal. Perinton is adjacent to the village of East Rochester , and the towns of Victor , Macedon , Pittsford , and Penfield...

 and Penfield

Penfield, New York

Penfield is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 36,242 at the 2010 census.The town was incorporated in 1810 by the proprietor, Daniel Penfield, who purchased the town lands in 1795 and moved to the area in 1809. Penfield is a suburb of Rochester, New York...

 on its way to the bay. It also skirts the edge of the combined town/village of East Rochester

East Rochester, New York

East Rochester is a coterminous town and village located southeast of the City of Rochester in Monroe County, New York. The village, home to about 6,587 people, is bounded by Pittsford to the west and south and Perinton to the north and east. The southern boundary is delimited by New York State...

.

The creek is believed to lie in a valley carved out by a pre-glacial Genesee River

Genesee River

The Genesee River is a North American river flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides hydroelectric power for downtown Rochester....

, which at the time would have flowed into Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

 where Irondequoit Bay does today. Glacial debris caused the river to be rerouted as the glaciers retreated, leaving only the comparatively tiny creek (Rogers 1893).

The first settlements in the town of Penfield sprang up along the creek, as its waters were well suited to mills. The Daisy Flour Mill

Daisy Flour Mill

The Daisy Flour Mill is a restaurant and party house located in what was once a flour mill on Irondequoit Creek. It is located on Blossom Road in the town of Penfield, New York, just across the creek from Ellison Park...

 is the last of over a dozen mills that once used the creek's waters.

The creek's valley caused a problem for the engineers of the original Erie Canal

Erie Canal

The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

, who ultimately had to build the Great Embankment aqueduct

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

 to bridge the valley near Bushnell's Basin (Fairchild 1896:134, Farley 2010, Schoff:505).