long from north to south. Communities in the Newport Creek watershed include Alden, Glen Lyon, Nanticoke, Newport Center, Sheatown, and Wanamie. Wilkes-Barre is northeast of the watershed and Hazleton is south of the watershed. Pennsylvania State Route 3002 and a number of township roads are found in the watershed. The creek drains much of a coal sheet known as Sheet No. 2. Its tributaries drain part of the coal sheet Mine Sheet No. 1. Much of the Newport Creek watershed is forested. However, there are significant areas of developed land in the eastern part of the watershed. Other land uses in the watershed area agricultural and disturbed land. The headwaters of the Newport Creek watershed are on Penobscot Mountain and Little Wilkes-Barre Mountain. Newport Lake, a lake of mine drainage, is in the creek's watershed. Fairchild Pond and the Wanamie Reservoir are also present in the sub-watershed of South Branch Newport Creek. Najaka Pond and Kielar Lake used to drain into Newport Creek or its tributaries, but mining in the watershed has intercepted their discharge. History The Bloomery Forge was built on Newport Creek some time before January 1777 by Nathaniel Chapman, Joseph Beach, and Chris Alden. A stone bridge was once built over Newport Creek near the location of an old mill. A person named Chapman constructed a mill on the creek, which was eventually replaced one built by William Jackson. For a number of years, Jackson's mill was the only mill in Newport Township. Coal mining began in the Newport Creek watershed in the middle of the 1800s, with deep mines being established in this period. A mine disaster occurred on the creek near Nanticoke on November 18, 1885. The mines were most active in the 1920s and in 1924, 35 million tons were produced. The production rate dropped slightly after the 1920s and entered a steady decline in the 1950s. Strip mines were established in the watershed in the middle of the 1900s. Deep mining in the watershed ended in the 1950s, but strip mining continues in the 21st century. Much of the watershed has been mined. Biology Coliform bacteria have been observed in the waters of Newport Creek. See also Shickshinny Creek Solomon Creek List of rivers of Pennsylvania Notes References Rivers of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Susquehanna River Rivers of Pennsylvania