The Conestoga River meanders for about sixty miles through the fertile farmlands of Lancaster County in southeastern Pennsylvania until it empties into the Susquehanna River. The Conestoga watershed drains approximately 217 square miles. The area is part of the Pennsylvania Piedmont lowlands. This area was once covered with a shallow sea. Various species of shellfish lived and died in the sea, their discarded shells building up to create great sheets of limestone. Eventually, tectonic forces pushed up to form the Appalachian Mountains. Over time, these mountains eroded, forming deep, rich soil in the alluvial valleys. This, in turn, enabled great forests to grow, and the forests provided the habitat for abundant wildlife. Bear, deer, elk, foxes, otters, raccoons, wildcats, wolves and the much-coveted beaver, not to mention many species of birds and waterfowl, all made their home in the forests and wetlands of the Conestoga Valley.
The first Paleo-Indians began to arrive in the area between twenty thousand and twelve thousand years ago. At that time, until the arrival of European settlers in the eighteenth century, the Conestoga Valley was much different than it is today. The valley was more like a swamp than the single channel that we now know. The valley was made up of numerous, interconnected streams that flowed around islands of vegetation. The system was resistant to flooding because the floodplains were broad and marshy, and the underlying soil was porous. The historic floodplain was full of vegetation with root systems that held the soils in place even during high water flow. The Conestoga has an inverted stream profile. This means that unlike most rivers that have their steepest slopes in the headwaters and level off as they approach their mouths, the Conestoga starts out with gentle slopes that increase as it approaches the Susquehanna. The Conestoga and its sister stream the Pequea Creek form a double watershed system. The Conestoga and Pequea with their tributaries drain most of Lancaster County.
My book, The Conestoga River: A History, tells the chronological story of Lancaster County’s historic river.
How sweet it is, when gloaming tide
Concludes a sultry summer’s day,
By some cool water’s shaded side
With loved ones, young or old, to stray!
And where did any eye survey
A landscape matching scene on scene
Where Conestoga winds its way
Betwixt its trees and meadows green?
0, lovely Conestoga!
—James D. Law, 1903
Blog Articles about the Conestoga River
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Lancaster’s Historic Waterway – Part I
The Conestoga River meanders for sixty miles through the fertile farmlands of Lancaster County. From early Native American inhabitants to the European settlers who made the Conestoga Valley their home,…Continue
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Lancaster’s Historic Waterway – Part II
This is the second article in a series of five which are taken from my book, “The Conestoga River: A History”. The first article outlined some general information about the…Continue
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Lancaster’s Historic Waterway – Part III
This is the third article in the series in which we are taking a journey through time on the historic waters of the Conestoga River. The first article outlined some…Continue
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Lancaster’s Historic Waterway – Part IV
This is the fourth article in the series in which we are taking a journey through time on the historic waters of the Conestoga River. The first article outlined some…Continue
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Lancaster’s Historic Waterway – Part V
This is the fifth and final article in the series covering a brief history of the Conestoga River. The first article outlined some general information about the Conestoga River Watershed….Continue