Spruce Creek (Maine)

Spruce Creek is a 5.25 miles (8.45 km) long tidal creek in York County, Maine beginning in Eliot, Maine and flows to the Atlantic ocean in Kittery, Maine.^[1] The creek drops 60 feet (18 m) from the headwaters and flows south and southeasterly direction through the heavily populated town of Kittery before emptying into 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²) of clam flats and joining the Piscataqua River.^[2][3]

Spruce Creek
The creek seen from the Kittery Point Bridge, where it meets the Piscataqua River. c. 2021
Location
Country	United States
States	Maine
Counties	York, ME
Towns and cities	Eliot, ME, Kittery, ME
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Eliot, ME
• elevation	60 ft (18 m)
Mouth	Piscataqua River
• location	Kittery, ME
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	5.25 mi (8.45 km)

The town of Kittery has a volunteer organization whose mission is to protect the watershed and help to restore water quality. The Spruce Creek Association was established more than ten years ago and actively monitors sources of bacteria and has implemented best management practice for water pollution for residential, commercial, and municipal properties in the creek watershed area.^[4]

History

In May 1698, a farmer by the name of Enoch Hutchins was killed by members of the Abenaki tribe while working in his fields along Spruce Creek. His wife and three sons were taken captive and brought north to Canada. They eventually escaped and made their way back to Maine.^[5][6]

In April 1705, Enoch Hutchins Jr. was again attacked by natives and died a year later from his wounds. His children and wife were taken captive.^[5]

Spruce Creek was also the site of several 17th and 18th tide mills, including the Thompson tide mill dam built circa 1694.^[7]

References

1. "Kickapoo Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
2. "Spruce Creek Watershed". Wells Reserve at Laudholm. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
3. Staff Writer (May 1, 2008). "Spruce Creek Watershed-Based Management Plan" (PDF). FB Environmental Associates in cooperation with the Towns of Kittery and Eliot, and the Spruce Creek Association. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
4. Staff Writer (October 23, 2020). "Kittery completes Spruce Creek Watershed Restoration Project". SeacoastOnline. The Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
5. Kerr, D. Allan (January 26, 2022). "Kittery's 375th: 'The perils of everyday life': When the town was a constant battleground". SeacoastOnline. The Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
6. Coleman, Emma Lewis (1925). New England Captives Carried to Canada Between 1677 and 1760, During the French and Indian Wars. Southworth Press. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
7. "New Tide Mill Video – Not Just for Locals". Tide Mill Institute. November 24, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2022.

43°06′04″N 70°43′21″W