Namesakes and Waterways of the Midstate: Plenty of theories for Yellow Breeches Creek’s origins | Midstate Digital Communities

Even though there are no decisive conclusions to the reasoning behind the creek’s name, there is no shortage of stories.

The Yellow Breeches Watershed Association said the earliest recorded use of a variation of Yellow Breeches Creek can be found on 1734 Blunston Licenses issuing 200 acres of land on the south side of “Yellow Britches Creek.” This is repeated nine other times in licenses issued through 1736, the association said, though it appears that the term “Yellow Breeches” was used exclusively by 1737.

An article on the Cumberland County Historical Society’s website lists the geographical or American Indian name of the creek as the Callapatscink, which means “where the waters turn back again.” Not only does this name describe the creek’s many bends as it nears the Susquehanna River, it also gives insight to the first inhabitants of the areas, the Susquehannock American Indians followed by the Shawnee American Indians in the mid- to late 1600s, the watershed association said.

A 2015 article in The Sentinel said early records show the stream was also called Shawnee Creek.

The article also offers a few possible explanations for the creek’s name. Legend goes, the article said, a family living near where Yellow Breeches Creek crosses Walnut Bottom Road hung out a pair of leather yellow breeches to dry on washing day. These were apparently stolen by American Indians and locals began referring to the waterway in light of this occurrence.

Another legend goes that an old man once yellowed the water by washing his buckskin breeches in the creek, the Historical Society said. It’s also possible that the name serves as a corruption of yellow beech trees, since they commonly grow along the creek’s banks, according to the historical society.

Or perhaps the name comes from an age-old song that goes “Yellow breeches, Full of stitches, Mammy sewed the buttons on; Daddy kicked me out of bed For sleeping with the breeches on,” the historical society said.

The society said people can pretty much pick whichever interpretation they choose and probably be about as correct as the person who chooses a different one, but regardless of the real reason the creek got its name, its multiple origin options provide an insight into its history.

Today the creek is known for its float trips and fly fishing opportunities.

Counties: Cumberland, York, Adams

Starts: South Mountain in Michaux State Forest near Walnut Bottom

Ends: Susquehanna River near New Cumberland

Elevation drop: 1,170 feet

Tributaries: The Yellow Breeches Creek serves as a tributary of the Susquehanna River and some of its main tributaries include Mountain Creek, Spruce Run, Kings Gap Hollow, Dogwood Run and Stony Run

Geology: freestone and limestone

Recreation: birding, fly fishing, boating, tubing

• Michaux State Forest (10099 Lincoln Way East in Fayetteville)
• Children’s Lake (Boiling Springs)
• Williams Grove Speedway (1 Speedway Drive in Mechanicsburg)
• Messiah University (1 College Ave. in Mechanicsburg)
• New Cumberland Borough Park (517 Front St. in New Cumberland)
• Bowmansdale Covered Bridge (on Messiah University’s campus)

• Common birds include ducks and wading birds, warblers, wrens, woodpeckers, Cedar Waxwings, Golden-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers
• Popular fish include trout (stocked and wild)
• Rentals available at Susquehanna Outfitters in Wormleysburg
• Susquehanna Outfitters offers guided kayak and canoe trips from spring to mid-September
• Use of creek is limited to daytime hours
• All access points are free
• Do not use rope swings along creek, these are dangerous with low water levels
• Take out and navigate around dams
• Flow rate is about 1 to 2 miles per hour

Real-time water levels near Camp Hill: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?01571500