Turkey Creek

Turkey Creek Falls, photographed March 29, 2008 by Alby Headrick

Turkey Creek is a tributary of Locust Fork in northeastern Jefferson County. Its name is believed to be a translation of the Creek Indian name for the stream.

Course

The stream arises off of Country Vale Drive in Clay, just southwest of the Clay Community Center. It flows southwest alongside Old Springville Road and feeds Cosby Lake at Camp Cosby and Shadow Lake at the foot of Keeler Mountain before bending to the northwest.

It is joined by several small feeder streams as it approaches Pinson, passing just north of the Tapawingo Trailer Park before crossing under U. S. Highway 75 and U. S. Highway 79 near Rudd Middle School. It winds through The Narrows, tumbling through a rocky waterfall (known as Turkey Creek Falls) at the end of Turkey Creek Road. It then continues northwest around the Turkey Creek Landfill occupying a former strip mine.

The creek passes under Newcastle Bedford Road and flows past Crosston before turning south under Majestic Road and then resuming its northwest course. It is joined by North Creek just west of a Louisville & Nashville Railroad bridge. It loosely parallels the L&N railway south of Majestic and past Haig Rogers Cemetery into the southern part of Morris where it meets Cunningham Creek and becomes wider.

Turkey Creek continues flowing northwest through western Morris with a sharp bend at the Turkey Creek Driving Range. After crossing Sardis Road it enters Kimberly from the south and joins the Locust Fork just north of the town limits.

Ecology

Turkey Creek is home to most of the only known populations of the endangered Vermilion darter and also supports small populations of the endangered Watercress darter and Rush darter.

A 466-acre Turkey Creek Nature Preserve was established around the falls area in Pinson in 2003, in part to help protect the fish and also to preserve recreational access to the area which has been a popular destination since the 19th century.

Though many of the mining sites in the area have since become inactive, the stream is still threatened by runoff from construction and intensifying development expected with the planned construction of the Northern Beltline.

In 2009 the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed designating Turkey Creek and its tributaries as "critical habitat" for the vermilion darter. The proposal would not impact private development, but could trigger additional review of federally-supported projects such as the proposed beltline. The Alabama Department of Transportation has already negotiated design protections for the fish with the FWS.

References

• Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730410X
• Spencer, Thomas (December 5, 2009) "Critical habitat status eyed for Turkey Creek." Birmingham News