Mulberry Fork

The Mulberry Fork is a tributary of the Black Warrior River, approximately 100 miles long, in northern Alabama. The Mulberry Fork is one of three forks, along with the Locust and the Sipsey forks, that join to form the Black Warrior. It drains part of the southernmost end of the Appalachian Mountains north and west of Birmingham, in the drainage basin of the Mobile River.

The Mulberry Fork rises in northeastern Cullman County, south of Arab. It flows in tight meanders along a ridge of the foothills, forming the boundary between Cullman and Blount counties. It receives the Sipsey Fork from the northwest approximately 15 miles east of Jasper. In southern Walker County it enters Bankhead Lake reservoir, forming the northernmost arm of the lake, approximately 10 miles long. The confluence with the Locust Fork is now submerged within Bankhead Lake, approximately 25 miles west of Birmingham.

On June 6, 2019 a chicken rendering plant operated by Tyson Foods in Hanceville spilled 220,000 gallons of wastewater from a broken pipe into Dave Young Creek, a tributary of Mulberry Fork, resulting in the death of an estimated 200,000 fish and rendering a 50-mile stretch of the river "unusable" for recreation, fishing or drinking water. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management surveyed the condition of the river and joined with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Attorney General Steve Marshall in a civil suit against Tyson. The case was settled with an agreement for Tyson to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the state and to create a separate $1.5 million fund for projects to benefit Walker and Cullman County.

Notable locations

• Tibb Creek and Warrior Creek flow together to form the Mulberry Fork west of Hopewell (map)
• Pond Branch flows into Mulberry Fork from the southeast
• Cabin Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Rockhole Bridge
• Alabama State Highway 67 crosses over, Alton Shedd Memorial Bridge
• Beckworth Branch flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Roswell Creek and Copeland Creek flow into Mulberry Fork from the east
• Pete Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Cullman County Road 698 / Blount County Road 55 crosses over
• Hurricane Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Lick Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Cullman County Road 783 / Blount County Road 51 cross over, Gable Bridge
• Buzzard Branch flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Mountain Grove Branch flows into Mulberry Fork from the southeast
• Riverside community
• Cullman County Road 747 / Blount County Road 47 cross over
• Duck River spills into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Pumphouse Bend, Shrine of The Most Blessed Sacrament
• Eightmile Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north at The Junction / Blue Hole Picnic Area
• Blount County Road 10 crosses over
• Georgia Bend
• Garden City
• U.S. Highway 31 crosses over
• American Proteins
• Thacker Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Town Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Mill Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the south
• Marriott Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• James Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the south
• Interstate 65 crosses over
• Clarkton Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Dean Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Acton Bend
• Isabelle Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the east
• Arkadelphia Road / Blount County Road 35 crosses over
• Price Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the south
• Sullivan Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Dorsey Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Sloan Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the south
• ECM Speedway
• Drummond Hollow
• Walker County Branch flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Mullen Branch flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Campbellville
• Coon Creek Road / Walker County Road 22 crosses over
• Sipsey Fork flows into Mulberry Fork from the northwest
• Little Creek and Old Town Creek flow into Mulberry Fork from the east
• Magbee Bend
• Cordell Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the south
• Burton Bend
• Burton Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the south
• Mathis Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the southwest
• Blackwater Creek flows into Mulberry form from the north
• U.S. Highway 78 crosses over
• Jean's On the River
• Sardis
• Barton Bend
• Stovatt Bend
• Cane Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the west
• Cordova
• Benoit Bend
• Frog Ague Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the west
• Mile 415
• Bough Bend
• Dovertown
• Mays Mine No. 5, formerly Reed Mine No. 5
• Flat Rock Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the east
• Barney
• Bee Shoals
• Horse Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the east
• Davis Bend
• Interstate 22 crosses over
• Mile 410
• Barton Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the west
• Kemps Bend
• Birch Shoals
• Birmingham Water Works Mulberry Intake (built 1989)
• Burnt Cane Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the east
• Shepherd Bend, Shepherd Bend Coal Mine
• Jones Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the south
• Tuggles Shoals
• Mile 405
• Tuggle Bend
• Mosquito Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Copeland Bend
• Mile 400
• Baker Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Plant Gorgas
• Payne Bend
• Franklin Bend
• Mile 395
• Lost Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Canaan Branch flows into Mulberry Fork from the west
• Mulberry Fork Wildlife Management Area begins (west bank)
• Mile 390
• Bluff Creek flows into Mulberry Fork from the north
• Bluff Creek Camp
• Riverwood Lodge
• Locust Fork joins Prescott Creek and Mulberry Fork to form the Black Warrior River at Bankhead Lake
• Mile 385
• Birmingham Water Works Mulberry Intake

References

• "Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River" (November 28, 2007) Wikipedia - accessed March 5, 2008
• Reich, Nicholas Tyler (Spring 2021) "Tyson Kills the Mulberry Fork" Environment & Society Portal. Arcadia, No. 16
• "Conservation Department Announces Resolution of Tyson Farms Mulberry Fork River Fish Kill" (August 11, 2021) Outdoor Alabama (Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources)

External links

• Friends of the Mulberry Fork River