Sweden near the confluence of Darby Creek and the Delaware River. The settlement they established served as the seat of government for the Swedes in North America for 12 years. They may have built impoundments in the creek to isolate marsh areas. Dutch settlers conquered the Swedish villages in 1655. In 1664, the Dutch surrendered the Darby Creek drainage basin to the English, who began settling the area after William Penn was issued a charter in 1681. The Darby Creek Ferry House, near the site of Printz's headquarters, was erected in 1694. The English settlers were attracted to the Darby Creek watershed due to the proximity to trading routes and productive landscape. In 1777, British soldiers breached dikes and floodwalls that were constructed on the creek. The Pennsylvania legislature passed an act in 1788 that mandated a maintenance of the dikes and the mowing of plants such as elderberries and pokeweed three times a year. Early English colonists utilized Darby Creek as a source of water power. Lumber, grist, and textile mills were established along the banks of the creek. Most of these mills have been demolished, although some of the tenement structures are currently in use as housing. At the end of the 19th century, industrial advances such as engine-driven machinery had made these mills obsolete. After 1900 The advent of railroads in the late 19th century led to further development in the watershed of Darby Creek. Stops along the Pennsylvania Railroad such as Darby, Prospect Park, and Ridley Park increased in population greatly. Concern for the health of the creek led Lansdowne residents to raise funds to preserve a stretch of the creek in 1910. In the early 1900s, the major industries in the watershed of Darby Creek included agriculture. However, in modern times, agriculture is only done in a few small areas in the watershed's upper reaches. During this time period, railroads such as the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad crossed the watershed. A gauging station was established on the creek at Landsowne in 1911. Nature's Plan For Parkways – Recreational Lands was published in 1932 and proposed a regional plan that would place Darby and Cobbs Creeks in an interior network of parks. These streams were chosen due to the fact that the flowed through some of the most densely populated areas in Southeastern Pennsylvania and it