page_title: Solomon Creek
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Solomon Creek / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Woodcut of waterfalls on Solomon Creek in 1809.
context_page_description: Solomon Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 8.8 miles long and flows through Fairview Township, Hanover Township, and Wilkes-Barre. The creek is affected by acid mine drainage and has significant loads of iron, aluminum, and manganese. The creek's named tributaries are Spring Run, Sugar Notch Run, and Pine Creek. The Solomon Creek watershed is located in the Anthracite Valley section of the ridge-and-valley geographical province. Major rock formations in the watershed include the Mauch Chunk Formation, the Spechty Kopf Formation, and the Catskill Formation.
  Solomon Creek was first settled by Native Americans around 8000 to 6000 B.C.E. A settler arrived at the confluence of the creek with the Susquehanna River by 1774. In the 1800s, more people began arriving in the watershed to exploit its natural resources. Anthracite mining was especially prevalent in the watershed in the 19th and 20th centuries, to the point that numerous streams were altered or destroyed and the Laurel Run mine fire started.
  Solomon Creek was devoid of fish in the 1970s.
context_section_description: Native Americans settled in the Solomon Creek watershed by approximately 8000 B.C. to 6000 B.C. Ebenezer Hibbard was an early European settler on the creek, living there by 1772. The creek is named after a person with the surname of Solomon, who settled at the mouth of the creek in 1774. In the early 1800s, Europeans first realized the natural resources of the watershed. In the early 1800s, there was a tavern called Inman's Tavern and several cabins in the Solomon Gap. In the mid-1800s, the population of the watershed increased significantly due to coal mining and timbering opportunities. The first road in Fairview Township, the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Turnpike, started at Solomon Creek.
  There are waterfalls called Solomon's Falls on Solomon Creek. They were called a "beautiful cascade" by Philadelphia's Portfolio in 1809, although a 1909 book stated that the waterfalls were no longer "picturesque" or "delightful". The falls were between 50 feet (15 m) and 60 feet (18 m).
  In 1809, Richard and Israel Inman constructed a gristmill at the foot of Solomon's Falls. It was converted to a house in 1833 and destroyed in 1850. A gristmill on the creek in Hanover Township had been built by 1812 and was run by George Mesinger. It was destroyed in 1840. In 1845, William Petty constructed the gristmill called Petty Mill in Hanover Township. This mill burned down in 1887. The Wyoming Division Canal, which was constructed in the 1830s, started at Solomon Creek. Construction of the Ashley Planes in the Solomon Creek gap began in 1837. They were used until 1848. An iron-producing forge operated on the creek in Ashley until 1839. There was also a sawmill on it until 1839. A powder mill operated on Solomon Creek, but was replaced with a brewery by 1885. A slaughterhouse discharged its waste into the creek in the early 20th century. The creek was used as the water supply for the Huber Breaker from the 1930s to the 1970s. The Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway passed over Solomon Creek.
  Mining has been done in the Solomon Creek watershed in the past, causing considerable environmental damage. The mining began in the beginning of the 1800s and continued until the 1970s. However, there was one strip mining permit in the watershed in the late 1990s. Starting in 1967, the mine pools under the creek stopped having water pumped out of them. This led to them flooding and damaging buildings in the watershed in 1972 during Hurricane Agnes. To remedy the problem of the flooding, the Buttonwood Tunnel and three boreholes known as the South Wilkes-Barre Boreholes were created. The water quality of the creek was assessed in 1970 as part of Operation Scarlift. A 1977 study by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission observed brook trout inhabiting the watershed, although the stream was listed as impaired on account of the mining. A plan called the Solomon Creek Cold Water Conservation Plan was initiated in the summer of 2011 and continued into 2012.
  A mine fire known as the Laurel Run mine fire started burning in the watershed of Solomon Creek since 1915, when a miner accidentally left a carbide lamp hanging from a timber support in the Red Ash Coal Mine. The lamp caused the support to catch fire. The fire may continue into the 22nd century. The fire was contained in 1973, but was not extinguished. Had the fire not been contained, it would have eventually spread under the entirety of the Wyoming Valley. The fire burns between 200 feet (61 m) and 300 feet (91 m) underground at a temperature of approximately 1,000 °F (538 °C).
  The creek flooded in September 1850. It was the most severe flood of the creek up to that time. In January 1996, 400 buildings along Solomon Creek flooded by it due to melting snow. This was one of numerous floods on that area of the creek.
caption: 1809 woodcut of the Solomon Creek falls
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