Sir Johns Run
Encyclopedia
Sir Johns Run is an 8.9 miles (14.3 km) tributary
stream
of the Potomac River
in Morgan County
, West Virginia
. For most of its course, Sir Johns Run is a shallow non-navigable stream. It rises on the eastern flanks of Cacapon Mountain
and from its source, flows north with Cacapon Mountain to its west and Warm Spring Ridge to its east. During its flow northward through the valley, Sir Johns Run is joined by a number of smaller spring-fed streams. Sir Johns Run empties into the Potomac River at the small community of the same name, Sir Johns Run
. The stream takes its name from Sir John St. Clair, a deputy quartermaster present during General Edward Braddock
's expedition
through the area during the French and Indian War
.
Steamboat
inventor James Rumsey
operated a mill on Sir Johns Run in the late 18th century. Rumsey and his brother-in-law, Joseph Barnes, tested a steamboat at the mouth of the stream.
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...
stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
in Morgan County
Morgan County, West Virginia
Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, it's population was 17,541. Its county seat is Berkeley Springs. The county is one of three in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, 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...
. For most of its course, Sir Johns Run is a shallow non-navigable stream. It rises on the eastern flanks of Cacapon Mountain
Cacapon Mountain
Cacapon Mountain runs northwest through Morgan and Hampshire counties in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, rising to its greatest elevation of 2,618 feet above sea-level at High Point. Cacapon Mountain is a folded mountain ridge, belonging to the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Province. Cacapon...
and from its source, flows north with Cacapon Mountain to its west and Warm Spring Ridge to its east. During its flow northward through the valley, Sir Johns Run is joined by a number of smaller spring-fed streams. Sir Johns Run empties into the Potomac River at the small community of the same name, Sir Johns Run
Sir Johns Run, West Virginia
Sir Johns Run is an unincorporated hamlet at the mouth of Sir Johns Run on the Potomac River in Morgan County, West Virginia northwest of Berkeley Springs. It is bound to its west by the Widmeyer Wildlife Management Area and to its east by Warm Springs Ridge...
. The stream takes its name from Sir John St. Clair, a deputy quartermaster present during General Edward Braddock
Edward Braddock
General Edward Braddock was a British soldier and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War...
's expedition
Braddock expedition
The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on...
through the area during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
.
Steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
inventor James Rumsey
James Rumsey
James Rumsey was an American mechanical engineer chiefly known for exhibiting a boat propelled by machinery in 1787 on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, now West Virginia, before a crowd of local notables, including Horatio Gates...
operated a mill on Sir Johns Run in the late 18th century. Rumsey and his brother-in-law, Joseph Barnes, tested a steamboat at the mouth of the stream.