Nimishillen Creek


Nimishillen Creek is a tributary of Sandy Creek, 24.5 miles long, in northeastern Ohio in the United States. Via Sandy Creek and the Tuscarawas, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 187 square miles, including the city of Canton.
Nimishillen Creek flows on both glaciated and unglaciated portions of the Allegheny Plateau, in Stark and Tuscarawas Counties. It is formed in Canton by the confluence of the East Branch Nimishillen Creek and the Middle Branch Nimishillen Creek. The East Branch is 10.4 miles long and flows through Louisville; the Middle Branch is 16.6 miles long. Shortly downstream of this confluence, the stream collects the West Branch Nimishillen Creek, which is nine miles long and flows through North Canton and Canton. From Canton, Nimishillen Creek flows generally southwardly, past East Sparta, into northern Tuscarawas County, where it flows into Sandy Creek from the north.

Names

According to one tradition, the name "Nimishillen" is derived from a Native American language meaning "black alder".
According to the Geographic Names Information System, Nimishillen Creek has also been known historically as: