Dredging the Little Darby

In the 1920s, the Little Darby Creek was dredged.  The creek was also straightened at this time.  The dredging began near Irwin and continued to the Rosedale-Plain City Road Bridge.  There were two reasons for this dredging: flood control and improved drainage for area farms.  The cables that pulled this dredging machine down the creek are still located in the creek bed.

In recent years, many of the area farms have now routed their tile drainage systems back over to the Big Darby.  The main reason for this switch is that the Big Darby sits at a lower elevation above sea level.  Many farmers would like to see the Little Darby dredged again, but it is unlikely that the OEPA or the EPA will allow this.