Moodna Creek

Moodna Creek is a small tributary of the Hudson River that drains eastern Orange County, New York. At 15.5 miles (25 km) in length from its source at the confluence of Cromline Creek and Otter Kill west of Washingtonville, it is the longest stream located entirely within the county.Despite its small size relative to the Hudson, it has been a major influence on the topography of eastern central Orange County. Its 187.2sqmi watershed, including not only both its parent streams but Woodbury Creek as well, reaches as far inland as Warwick as well as 21 other area communities. Near Salisbury Mills it is crossed by the Moodna Viaduct, the longest actively used railroad trestle east of the Mississippi.NameBefore European contact, the creek was known as Waoraneck, which was also the name of a tribe in the area.Most early records name the creek Murderer's Creek. One theory holds that "Moodna" is a corruption of the Dutch word moordenaars, meaning "murderers." Local lore has it that the name came from the massacre of the Stacys, an early family of settlers, along its banks. However, there is no evidence of any such murder actually having taken place.