 The name is an English interpretation of "Modder Kill", as it was called by early Dutch settlers in the region.In Dutch, "Modder" means "mud" or "slime", so the meaning of the creek's name stayed the same.The fertile lands of the creek's valley attracted many early settlers, and the houses of some, such as Abraham Dickerson, Jacob Bookstaver, Moses Mould and Wilhelm Schmitt, still stand.