The Valley Streams

Springs and the rain runoff from the surrounding  mountains and hills created several streams of varying sizes that cross this wide and fertile valley near our farm. Two streams began in Dugger mountain. The smaller one is Nance's Creek, and the larger is Terrapin Creek. And, from the eastern mountains meanders the small and shallow Hurricane Creek.

The Ladiga Branch, named after a local Indian chief, is formed by springs in the valley near the Vigo community, and flows west into the Terrapin Creek across from our farm's bottom land cow pasture. This  stream was noted for its very clear and very cold water. Friends and I shivered uncontrollably after swimming in  its "deep hole", so named because it was the only wide and deep place in Ladiga Branch where we could swim. 

I fished in each of these streams either from the bank or wading. Terrapin Creek was the only one that rewarded my numerous efforts for catching bass and bream , which added to our choice for an evening meal, though never enough to actually feed our family of four. My fishing was not a sport, though enjoyable, and even the smaller fish I proudly carried home  to mother.

To refer to one of these streams, was one of the ways a person described the location of a particular family, farm, hunting area, swimming hole, and most anything else tangible. Also, in giving directions, it was common to refer to a stream  such as saying: "What you do is just before you cross the Formby bridge, turn right on that dirt road, and go about a mile and then take that field road to the left and it will lead you right to 40 foot." ("40 foot" was a long stretch of slow moving very deep water in Terrapin Creek known as a good place to slowly boat float and fish, which I did with my dad and maternal uncle in  dad's homemade plywood flat boat.)
Here is another example of using the name and location of a stream:  a person might say: "Right after you cross Hurricane Creek right there at Spring Garden School, they live in that house off to your left on that hill. You'll see it."

The torrential winter rains caused major flooding of these valley  streams. The photo below  is of the Terrapin Creek at flood stage less than a mile from our farm. The stream bed at normal level would be at the width of the space underneath the center span of this railroad trestle. Notice the depth of the water at the telegraph pole near the center of this photo.

This second picture, below, is of the same flooding of Terrapin Creek. The location is on the bridge of highway US 278 a few miles east of  Piedmont, Alabama in the direction of Cedartown Georgia.

The annual winter flooding, which covered one third of our lower farmland  for several days, deposited rich soil from upstream fields. However, with this soil came the seeds of weeds that added to those we already had in our fields and which added to our hoeing and plowing to get rid them, which was never successful.