Water Features and Hatchery
The redirection of water
MAP 10
By now, it is probably clear to park visitors that Archibald Johnston had a deep interest in the direction and control of water. From ensuring ample drinking water for his home to moving water into a mill race to operate Santee Mill at the western edge of his property, Johnston dominated the Monocacy Creek during the last 25 years of his life.
It is likely that some of the masons and concrete workers who had recently completed construction of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge in Bethlehem in 1924, a Johnston project, would have worked along the Monocacy.
The H-beam in the foreground of the photo above, the signature shape of steel created by Bethlehem Steel, was used as a footbridge over the Monocacy. Water from the creek fed a fish hatchery nearby. Adults in Bethlehem today recall sneaking onto the property in the 1970s to play along the creek and by the hatchery. Today, sneaking is no longer necessary to enjoy the quiet waters of the Monocacy.