Paunnacussing Creek, also spelled Paunacussing and Paunaucussing, is a tributary of the Delaware River contained wholly within Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It rises from a pond north of Mechanicsville in Buckingham Township and drains into the Delaware at Bulls Island just upstream of Lumberville in Solebury Township. Notable crossings include the Carversville Stone Bridge and an aqueduct of the Delaware Canal.
History The original inhabitants of the area of Paunnacussing Creek were the Lenape people. Later, it became a part of the Province of Pennsylvania in 1681. The first mention of the stream was on Cutler's resurvey in 1703. At one time there were several mills along the creek as evidenced by dams along the waterway, which were damaged or destroyed during the great flood of 3 August 1885, which caused severe damage in the village of Carversville, washed out local roads, and destroyed the aqueduct carrying the Delaware Canal over the creek. The cost of replacing the aqueduct was $10,000.
Statistics The Geographic Name Information System I.D. is 1183392,, variant Paunacussing Creek U.S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey I.D. is 03093. The creek's watershed is , and it meets its confluence with the Delaware river's 155.60 river mile at an elevation of .http://www.lycoming.edu/cwi/pdfs/paGazetterOfStreams.pdf , page 76
Course
Paunnacussing Creek rises from a pond north of Mechanicsville at an elevation of and starts out northwest oriented, then northeast, turns northwest, and back to northeast. At Carversville, it picks up two unnamed tributaries, one from the right bank, then one from the left. Then is northeast oriented until it passes under the Delaware Canal aqueduct and meets with the Delaware River just upstream of Lumberville across from Bulls Island at an elevation of , resulting in an average slope of .
Geology
Paunnacussing Creek lies in the Stockton Formation of bedrock consisting of arkosic sandstone, buff to light-gray, and red to purple-red sandstone, shale, siltstone, and mudstone laid down during the Triassic.
Municipalities Bucks County Solebury Township Buckingham Township
Crossings and Bridges Crossing NBI Number Length Lanes Spans Material/Design Built Reconstructed LatitudeLongitude Indian Spring Road--------- Wellsford Lane--------- Street Road--------- Carversville Stone Bridge, Carversville Road710322arch-deck masonry-201140°23'11.1"N75°3'45.7"W Fleecy Dale Road711122arch-deck masonry--40°23'15.6"N75°3'46"W Old Carversville Road754511steel stringer/multi-beam or girder1931198640°23'34.8"N75°3'26.2"W Pennsylvania Route 32 (River Road)4133821prestressed concrete box beam or girders-multiple2001-40°24'27.8"N75°2'31.92"W Delaware Canal Paunnacussing Creek Aqueduct------202540°24'30.3"N 75°2'28.7"W
See also List of rivers of the United States List of rivers of Pennsylvania List of Delaware River tributaries
References