French Creek (Allegheny River tributary)

The stream has been sometimes called a river and sometimes a creek. In the 18th century, the stream was an important link between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River. The French built Fort Presque Isle and Fort Le Boeuf to control the portage from the stream's headwaters to Lake Erie. They called the stream Rivière aux boeufs (Cattle River) because the bison in the vicinity reminded them of French cattle. In 1753, George Washington, still a British subject, was sent to deliver a message to Fort Le Boeuf asking the French to leave the region, as tensions increased before the French and Indian War. Washington called the stream French Creek rather than Beef Creek (another common rendering of Rivière aux Boeufs), and his version prevailed after the British won the Seven Years' War and took control of former French colonies in North America east of the Mississippi River. == Course ==

French Creek begins near French Creek, New York, and flows about to the Allegheny River at Franklin, Pennsylvania. The creek's drainage basin covers . The watershed includes parts of Erie, Crawford, Venango, and Mercer counties in Pennsylvania as well as Chautauqua County in New York. ==Fauna, water quality==

Providing habitat to more than 80 species of fish and 26 species of freshwater mussels, French Creek is among the most biologically diverse streams in the northeastern United States. Environmental concerns about the creek's water quality have been raised since at least the 1990s. Improvements to sewage treatment plants in Meadville, Cambridge Springs, and Saegertown have helped reduce the amount of chlorine and other chemicals entering the stream. Farm and highway runoff, malfunctioning septic systems, erosion, sedimentation, invasive species, and damaged riparian zones are other problems affecting the creek. The French Creek Project, organized in 1995, sponsors French Creek music festivals, ecology tours, and watershed classes for the public. ==Awards==

The creek won the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources award for River of the Year in 2003. ==See also==