page_title: Butternut Creek (Onondaga County)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Butternut Creek (Onondaga County) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Butternut Creek aqueduct at Old Erie Canal, DeWitt, NY
context_page_description: Butternut Creek is a stream in the greater Syracuse, New York area and a tributary of Limestone Creek, part of the Oneida Lake watershed. The creek is about 16 miles long.
context_section_description: The Butternut Creek valley was centrally located in the traditional lands of the Onondaga people. In 1681, Father Jean de Lamberville wrote that the main Onondaga village was situated along the east bank of the creek about a mile south of present day Jamesville, in the valley now flooded by Jamesville Reservoir. After clashes with French colonists in the early 1700s the Onondaga moved south into the hill country along upper Butternut Creek, before being forced west to the Onondaga Creek during the 1720s. According to the Geographic Names Information System, known Native American names for the creek include Ka-soongk-ta, Kashunkta, Ki-ech-i-o-i-ah-te, and Oh-jees-twa-ya-na.
  In 1856, the first Butternut Creek Aqueduct was built to carry the Erie Canal across the creek. The original wooden structure has since been replaced by a three-span stone and concrete bridge, with a span of 80 feet (24 m).
  Jamesville Reservoir was originally constructed in 1874 to provide water for the Erie Canal during dry seasons. The reservoir has 224 acres (91 ha) of water, a capacity of 4,000 acre⋅ft (4,900,000 m³), and is bordered by Jamesville Beach County Park, a popular local swimming area. During the 1970s, the Jamesville Dam was found to have cracked from age and the reservoir was temporarily drained while repairs were carried out.
  During the floods of 1974 the creek crested at a record 7.84 ft (2.39 m), causing flooding in portions of DeWitt. Several portions of the creek were channelized during the construction of Interstate 481 in the 1970s, to provide flood control and reduce erosion.
  In 2012 the Butternut Creek aqueduct breached, draining a large part of the Erie Canal and causing flash flooding in Butternut Creek. The aqueduct was repaired by plugging the breach with gravel.
caption: Butternut Creek aqueduct at Old Erie Canal, DeWitt, NY
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