Ninemile Creek (Onondaga Lake tributary)
Ninemile Creek, also known as Nine Mile Creek, is a stream in Central New York in the United States. Its source is at Otisco Lake in the town of Marcellus, from where the creek runs northward for through the villages of Marcellus and Camillus to Onondaga Lake in the town of Geddes. Nine Mile Creek is a scenic stream noted for trout fishing. The Solvay Process Company deposited industrial waste near the creek and Onondaga Lake from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. Recent reclamation has significantly restored quality in the final stretch of the creek. Farther to the south and upstream, the state of New York maintains fishing access sites. History The Town of Marcellus was built around Nine Mile Creek and an appreciation of the Creek is necessary for understanding the Town's history. The Nine Mile Creek valley was known for its very productive agricultural soils and its "deep picturesque valley" of eastern hemlocks. Since the late 1700s some 25 mills were established along Nine Mile Creek. Deacon Samuel Rice and Judge Dan Bradley built the first mill on the creek between 1795 and 1796. While the mill is no longer standing it was reportedly built south of the village. The Crown Mill, which is located in the village on State Route 174, is one of the few old mills still standing. The mill was demolished in 2016. Robert and Thomas Dyer built it in 1812. The mill has since changed hands many times. Interest in rail transportation peaked in the late 19th century. After railroad fever took hold in the 1870s, a short-line railroad was constructed that connected Otisco Lake to Marcellus. Through incorporation of the Marcellus & Otisco Lake Railway Company, the rail line was eventually completed on May 25, 1905. The project was more difficult than anticipated, with 46 curves constructed in just of track. Connection with the Fontney, Otisco Lake's ferryboat, made transportation of people and goods relatively easier. The M&OL Railway was abandoned on July 15, 1937, after roads for motorcars were constructed in the region. The short-line railroad was a unique chapter in the town's history with only an empty railroad grade and an old station building remaining. The grade and arches nevertheless are still a prominent feature of the lower reaches of the creek within Marcellus. Erie Canal Aqueduct Waste Beds The lower part of Nine Mile Creek (from Route 173 to Onondaga Lake) has been significantly affected by the construction and operation of waste beds containing byproducts from the production of sodium carbonate by the Solvay Process. The Solvay Process Company (later acquired by Allied Corp.) began production in 1886. Initially wastes from the process were deposited along the shore of Onondaga Lake. Starting in 1916, waste beds 1–6 were constructed on the shore of the lake in the vicinity of Nine Mile Creek, and the creek was diverted to the north around beds 5 and 6. The beds along Nine Mile Creek near the lakeshore were