Raccoon Creek Watershed

The Raccoon Creek watershed contains approximately 40 square miles of land and drains central Gloucester County. The creek itself is 19 miles long and has two main branches. The North Branch, or main channel, flows from Glassboro and Elk Township across Harrison Township. The South Branch starts in Elk and South Harrison Townships and joins the North Branch on the western side of Harrison Township. The channel then flows across Woolwich Township and Swedesboro, and empties into the Delaware River in Logan Township. The Raccoon Creek Watershed also includes the smaller Birch Creek, which flows directly into the Delaware River and is entirely within Logan Township.

The Raccoon Creek was home to the Narraticons, a sub-tribe of Lenape Indians. They called the creek the “Narraticon-sippus,” meaning “raccoon-river.” Early European settlers did a thriving trade in furs with these indigenous people. Beavers may have been especially abundant in this watershed. The earliest settlement by Europeans in Gloucester County was at the mouth of the Raccoon Creek, near the town of Bridgeport. This settlement was called “New Stockholm” by its early Scandinavian settlers.

The creek is tidal up to a point to the east of Swedesboro. Closer to its mouth, the Raccoon Creek is wide, with broad tidal marshes along its channel. As with other creeks in Gloucester County that drain to the Delaware River, the marshes closest to the mouth were partly filled with deposits of materials dredged from the Delaware River in order to maintain its depth for shipping. Thus the outlet channel of these creeks, including that of the Raccoon, are narrower at their ends and have less tidal marsh than upstream, due to the dredge spoil sites.

Major tributaries to the North Branch of the creek are Hill and Jefferson Branches, Miery Run, Little Clem’s Run, Clems Run, Cartwheel Branch, and Gilman Branch. Poplar Branch and Shivers Run are tributaries to the South Branch. Tributaries to the main channel are Basgalore Creek, Narraticon Run, and Grand Sprute Run. Winarski Lake, Lake Gilman, Ewan Lake, Mullica Hill Pond, Narraticon Lake, and Lake Basgalore are among the many lakes and ponds in this area.

Return to the main Maps or Gloucester County Watersheds page.