Hackers Creek is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the West Fork River

West Fork River

The West Fork River is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, 103 miles long, in north-central West Virginia in the United States...

, 25.4 miles (40.9 km) long, in north-central West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Via the West Fork, Monongahela

Monongahela River

The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

 and Ohio

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

 Rivers, it is part of the watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, draining an area of 58 square miles (150.2 km²) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau

Allegheny Plateau

The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...

. The stream is believed to have been named for a settler

Settler

A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...

 named John Hacker, who lived near the creek for over twenty years beginning around 1770, and was said to have been able to "read but not write; and yet he was a magistrate

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

 and a patriarch

Patriarch

Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...

 in the settlement."

Hackers Creek rises approximately 5 miles (8 km) north of Buckhannon

Buckhannon, West Virginia

Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, West Virginia, United States, and is located along the Buckhannon River. The population was 5,725 at the 2000 census. Buckhannon is home to West Virginia Wesleyan College and the West Virginia Strawberry Festival,...

 in northern Upshur County

Upshur County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,404 people, 8,972 households, and 6,352 families residing in the county. The population density was 66 people per square mile . There were 10,751 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile...

 and flows westwardly into northeastern Lewis County

Lewis County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,919 people, 6,946 households, and 4,806 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 7,944 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...

, where it turns northwestwardly and flows through the town of Jane Lew

Jane Lew, West Virginia

Jane Lew is a town in Lewis County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 406 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Jane Lew is located at , along Hackers Creek....

 into southern Harrison County

Harrison County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 68,652 people, 27,867 households, and 19,088 families residing in the county. The population density was 165 people per square mile . There were 31,112 housing units at an average density of 75 per square mile...

, where it joins the West Fork River from the southeast, approximately three miles (5 km) northwest of Jane Lew.

According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, approximately 69% of the Hackers Creek watershed is forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

ed, mostly deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

. Approximately 28% is used for pasture and agriculture, and less than 1% is urban.

Variant spellings

According to the Geographic Names Information System

Geographic Names Information System

The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...

, Hackers Creek has also been known historically as:

• Hacker's Creek
• Hackers Crick
• Heackers Creek
• Heckers Creek

N.B.: Neighboring Barbour County, West Virginia

Barbour County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there are 15,557 people, 6,123 households, and 4,365 families residing in the county. The population density is 46 people per square mile . There are 7,348 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...

, also has a Hacker's Creek, a tributary of the Tygart Valley River

Tygart Valley River

The Tygart Valley River — also known as the Tygart River — is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, approximately long, in east-central West Virginia, USA...

, about 3 miles downstream from Philippi

Philippi, West Virginia

Philippi is a city in — and the county seat of — Barbour County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 2,870 at the 2000 census. In 1861, the city was the site of the Battle of Philippi, known as "The Philippi Races"...

.