Saw Kill

Saw Kill may refer to three different bodies of water in New York. Two are tributaries and make up watersheds on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. The northernmost of these is in the Town of Stuyvesant, New York in Columbia County and the southernmost of these is in the Town of Red Hook, New York in Dutchess County. The northern Saw Kill is more commonly known as Mill Creek today.^[1] The third tributary drains into Esopus Creek on the Hudson’s west bank. This article refers to the southern body of water on the east bank as Saw Kill (east) and the body of water on the west bank as Saw Kill (west).^[2]^[3]^[4]

The Saw Kill (west) creek, near Woodstock NY

Saw Kill (west)

41°58′47″N 74°00′51″W / 41.979648°N 74.014095°W / 41.979648; -74.014095

Geography

The western Saw Kill tributary is in Ulster County. 19.7 miles (31.7 km) long,[1] it rises in Forest Preserve lands on the lower slopes of Indian Head Mountain and, after flowing through the town of Woodstock, empties into the Esopus just above Saugerties; just north of Route 209 and just downstream of Ulster Town Hall. The Saw Kill is one of the major tributaries to the Esopus. There is a sedimentary delta halfway across the Esopus Creek channel in this area, which indicates high sediment loads in the Saw Kill.^[5]

The Saw Kill (west) drains are mostly forested watershed. The watershed also contains some wetland areas.^[6]

History

On January 1, 1765, William Legg bought around 100 acres of land lying on both sides of the Saw Kill for 50 schipples of wheat. This was one of the first purchases to be made in the present town of Kingston. Legg built a sawmill and a house. The contract also required him to pay half a bushel of wheat every year to the trustees who he bought the land from. The Legg family lived there for 88 years. It was reported that they ground wheat in the mill for the Continental Army.

The next owner was James Gaddis. He continued the milling operations and denied requests of people to use the land for quarrying. However, in the 1880s a fire destroyed both the house and the mill. Gaddis, needing money to rebuild, gave permission for quarrying bluestone on the Saw Mill creek ledge. The extensive quarrying moved the falls that were located by the mill back 300 feet.

Howe’s Mill was another mill located on the Saw Kill. It powered by a dam at Little Falls. The mill was used to make gunpowder and there were frequently explosions. The mill stayed mostly intact, however, and continued operating until the 1860s when it was hit by lightning.

Bluestone quarrying in the area increased in 1828 when the Delaware and Hudson Canals were being built. Quarry owners hired unskilled immigrant laborers and built houses for them in the area. This led to the creation of small, distinct, immigrant communities. Many of the houses built during this time are still standing.^[7]

In the 1900s railroads helped spur tourism in the region. During the summers, many farmers would take in boarders from the city. The scenic beauty and good trout fishing in the Saw Kill and other similar creeks is part of what attracted people to the area.^[5]

With the growth of suburban life in America, suburban communities developed in Sweat Meadows along the Saw Kill creek. Flooding in the creek then became an issue for these communities. Residents organized a clean-out of the creek in 1981. However, this didn’t solve the problem and flooding continues to happen during heavy rains.^[7]

Ecosystems

The Saw Kill provides an important habitat for various species. Opposite the place where the Saw Kill joins the Esopus are alluvial flats with flood-plain pools, which used to be sand or gravel pits. They now provide an important habitat for frogs, including the Northern Leopard Frog (which is rare in the region). Other organisms such as dragonflies and small fish provide the basis for a thriving ecosystem in the area.^[8]

Water Quality

There have been some water quality issues in the Saw Kill (west). High bacteria counts have been found in tests taken near Lake Katrine. The bacteria levels are worse during times of heavy rainfall.^[9]

Recreation

The Saw Kill creek (west) contains whitewater rapids for rafting and kayaking,^[10] in addition to swimming holes.^[11] The Saw Kill also attracts fishers.^[12]

References

↑ Columbia County at the End of the Century - Historical sketches of the Hudson 1862, S.B Miler, Record Printing and Publishing Company, January 1, 1900
↑ "USGS TNM 2.0 Viewer". viewer.nationalmap.gov. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
↑ "Chapter 2". www.workerseducation.org. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
↑ Hart, Craig (1998). "Land Use, Soil Erosion, and Sediment Delivery in Two Hudson River Valley Watersheds" (PDF). Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
1 2 "A Journey Through Lower Esopus Creek" (PDF). www.loweresopus.org.
↑ "Lake Katrine- Sawkill Creek tributary | Riverkeeper". www.riverkeeper.org. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
1 2 "History of Town of Kingston". www.townkingstonny.us. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
↑ "The Sawkill Creek | Montgomery Place". american-arcadia.hudsonvalley.org. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
↑ "Hudson River tributaries show high bacteria levels". www.dailyfreeman.com. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
↑ "New York whitewater Saw Kill River". www.riverfacts.com. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
↑ "SwimmingHoles.info New York Swimming Holes and Hot Springs rivers creek springs falls hiking camping outdoors". www.swimmingholes.org. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
↑ "Fly Fishing Saw Kill (Esopus Creek) New York". www.alekasports.com. Retrieved 2015-10-17.

Hudson River watershed
Tributaries	Batten Kill Black Meadow Creek Bowery Creek Breakneck Brook Canajoharie Creek Caroga Creek Casperkill Catskill Creek Cayadutta Creek Cedar River Claverack Creek Clove Brook Cobleskill Creek Coeymans Creek Coxsackie Creek Cross River Croton River East Branch Croton River East Branch Sacandaga River East Canada Creek Eightmile Creek Esopus Creek Fall Kill Fishkill Creek Fonteyn Kill Fulmer Creek Hannacrois Creek Honnedaga Brook Hoosic River Jackson Creek Jan De Bakkers Kill Kaaterskill Creek Kayaderosseras Kinderhook Creek Kisco River Lake Creek Little Shawangunk Kill Maritje Kill Miami River Mill Creek Mohawk River Moodna Creek Moordener Kill Moyer Creek Muddy Kill Neepaulakating Creek Normans Kill Nowadaga Creek Onesquethaw Creek Oriskany Creek Otsquago Creek Otter Kill Papakating Creek Peekskill Hollow Creek Pocantico River Pochuck Creek Poesten Kill Potic Creek Quassaick Creek Roeliff Jansen Kill Rondout Creek Sacandaga River Sauquoit Creek Saw Kill Saw Mill River Sawyer Kill Schoharie Creek Schroon River Shawangunk Kill Sparkill Creek Sprout Creek Steele Creek Stockport Creek Stony Clove Creek Taghkanic Creek Tenmile Creek Tin Brook Titicus River Verkeerder Kill Vloman Kill Wallkill River Walloomsac River Wappinger Creek Wawayanda Creek West Branch Papakating Creek West Branch Sacandaga River West Canada Creek Wynants Kill
Lakes	Alcove Reservoir Ashokan Reservoir Basic Creek Reservoir Beacon Reservoir Bog Brook Reservoir Cedar Lake Chadwick Lake Chub Lake Cross River Reservoir Croton Falls Reservoir Dyken Pond East Branch Reservoir East Caroga Lake Fall Lake Franklinton Vlaie Garnet Lake Glenmere Lake Great Sacandaga Lake Great Vlaie Henderson Lake Honnedaga Lake Indian Lake Lizard Pond Lake Maratanza Muscoot Reservoir Lake Neepaulin New Croton Reservoir Notch Lake Piseco Lake Lake Pleasant Queechy Lake Rondout Reservoir Sacandaga Lake Saratoga Lake Sturgeon Pool Surprise Lake Sylvan Lake Lake Tear of the Clouds Thompson Pond Titicus Reservoir Trout Lake West Caroga Lake Whaley Lake Winnisook Lake
Towns	Albany Alpine Amsterdam Bayonne Beacon Bedford Beekman Bennington Bethlehem Blooming Grove Carmel Catskill Cliffside Park Clifton Park Cohoes Colonie Cortlandt East Fishkill East Greenbush Edgewater Englewood Cliffs Fishkill Fort Lee Glenville Gloversville Greenburgh Guilderland Halfmoon Herkimer Hoboken Hyde Park Jersey City Kingston Kirkland LaGrange Lloyd Malta Middletown Milton Monroe Montgomery Moreau Mount Pleasant New Castle New Hartford New Paltz New Windsor New York City Newburgh Niskayuna North Adams North Bergen Ossining Peekskill Plattekill Poughkeepsie Queensbury Rome Rotterdam Saugerties Schenectady Shawangunk Somers Southeast Sparta Tenafly Troy Utica Vernon Wallkill Wappinger Warwick Weehawken West New York Whitestown Wilton Yonkers Yorktown
Landmarks	Adirondack Mountains Adirondack Park Ashokan Bridge Blenheim Bridge Buskirk Bridge Catskill Mountains Champlain Canal Cohoes Falls Copeland Bridge Delaware and Hudson Canal Eagleville Bridge East River Erie Canal George Washington Bridge Harlem River Helderberg Escarpment Hudson Highlands State Park Kaaterskill Clove Kaaterskill Falls Kill Van Kull Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge Mid-Hudson Bridge Newburgh–Beacon Bridge The Palisades Perrine's Bridge Plotter Kill Preserve Pollepel Island Popolopen Rexleigh Bridge Rip Van Winkle Bridge Salisbury Center Bridge Schoharie Bridge Shushan Bridge Sleepy Hollow Statue of Liberty Taconic Mountains Tappan Zee Bridge Verkeerderkill Falls Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Walkway over the Hudson Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge West Canada Lake Wilderness Area West Point

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