Winter along the Creek...

Winter often produces magical formations of ice on tree limbs which hang into the creek. It is sometimes like the jewelry of mother nature along the banks.

Oatka Creek Park is aptly named for the creek passing through it on the north side of the park lands. The creek was originally named Allen's Creek after an early settler to this region. The creek passes through Scottsville and empties into the Genesee River. A part of the creek was once used for transport as a part of the Scottsville-Genesee River Canal.

The creek was also a power resource for manufacturing and was damed at many places too turn water wheels for running machinery. An obvious dam is still visible at what was once the Ebsary Gypsum processing plant, now Sabin Metal Corporation. A less obvious damn was within the present park grounds at Garbutt and just west of the bridge crossing the creek on Union Street.

Winter is a great time to see the many ruins of the old manufacturing operations which were once present here within the lands now called Oatka Creek Park.