Quassaick Creek
| Quassaick Creek | |
| Quassaic Creek | |
| stream | |
 Creek along the Newburgh city-town line
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| Name origin: Algonquian for "stony brook" | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | New York |
| Counties | Orange, Ulster |
| Municipality | Town of Plattekill, Town of Newburgh, City of Newburgh, Town of New Windsor |
| Tributaries | |
| - right | Bushfield Creek |
| City | Newburgh |
| Landmark | Chadwick Lake |
| Source | E of Tuckers Corner |
| - elevation | 680 ft (207 m) |
| - coordinates | 41°39′45″N 74°01′34″W / 41.66250°N 74.02611°W |
| Mouth | Hudson River |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| - coordinates | 41°29′16″N 74°00′26″W / 41.48778°N 74.00722°WCoordinates: 41°29′16″N 74°00′26″W / 41.48778°N 74.00722°W |
Quassaick Creek (Quassaic Creek on federal maps) is an 18.4-mile-long (29.6 km)tributary of the Hudson River in Orange and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York. It rises in the glacial ridges west of the river, near the boundary between the towns of Plattekill and Marlborough. From there it flows south into the town of Newburgh and then the city, where it eventually forms part of the border between it and neighboring New Windsor before emptying into the Hudson.
It was one of the earliest places settled by Europeans in the vicinity of what is present-day Newburgh. Milling and other industries were drawn to its banks, and it is impounded several times in its lower course, most significantly at Chadwick Lake, the Town of Newburgh's local water supply. The industrial development of the lower banks led to serious pollution of the creek in the 20th century. In the wake of successful cleanup efforts, some local citizens and organizations have proposed a system of parks and trails along the lower creek.
The creek rises on the western slope of the long glacial ridge known as Marlboro Mountain, a half-mile east of the small hamlet known as Tuckers Corners in the Ulster County town of Plattekill. From there it flows downward into the valley through a minimally developed series of swamps and ponds, south but trending further to the west. Just south of the hamlet of Plattekill, it reaches the Orange County line, then quickly jogs back due west into Ulster County, crossing under its first major road, NY 32, in the process. Then it resumes a southerly heading, paralleling Old Mill Road, the New York State Thruway and Route 32 back into Orange County. Two miles (3 km) to the south, it opens up into Chadwick Lake, a reservoir built in 1926 as a privately owned recreational lake, and purchased by the town of Newburgh in 1962 to serve as the town's main water supply. It is today a town park, with trails and a playground at the southern end.
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Wikipedia