The "Native Americans And The Eel Weir" Story

 It was an ordinary day. Looking at a story in the local LNP newspaper titled "Submerged History".  Story tells about the many ancient eel weirs that still survive along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania.  The Susquehanna River is the United States' sixteenth largest river and is the largest river lying entirely in the United States that flows into the Atlantic Ocean.  The Susquehanna and it's hundreds of tributaries drain 27,510 square miles, an area nearly the size of South Carolina, spread over parts of the states of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.  It eventually drains into the Chesapeake Bay.  The summer of 2020 Carol and I took a "River Discovery Tour" that traveled on the Susquehanna River from Wrightsville south to the first hydroelectric plant.  We had a great time and learned quite a bit about the river.  One thing we never knew about the river until today's newspaper arrived was about the ancient eel weirs.  A weir is a barrier that runs across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level.  They can be used to control the flow of water from outlets or lakes, ponds and reservoirs.  Well, it seems as if at one time Native Americans built a weir across the Susquehanna River at the mouth of the Mahoning Creek.  The sides, or walls, of the weir rise about 3 to 5 feet from the river bottom and are about an eight of a mile wide at the top of the "V".  

An eel weir seen when the water the water level is low.
It is near Selinsgrove in the 1950s to 60s.  Photo by Bill Simcox

It is also thought that a few of the weirs on the Susquehanna might have been built before the great pyramids of Egypt.  That belief came about after a wooden capture basket at the end of an eel weir in the state of Maine was carbon-dated to an origin of approximately 6,000 years ago.  And, it seems as if the Susquehanna is full of these eel weirs.  The story in the newspaper told of a young boy growing up on Bald Top Mountain above the Susquehanna River and looking down during low water times and seeing the mysterious "V" rising from the bottom.  Boy's name was Van Wagner and he eventually became a high school environmental science teacher.  This year, due to COVID-19, he had his classes checking satellite imagery of the Susquehanna to see if they could find the eel weirs.  They have discovered several dozen so far with all of the weirs near documented Native American sites.  A fishery biologist with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission agrees that there are probably hundreds of them still along the length of the river.  

An eel weir near Danville, PA which was built by Native Americans.

The eel was a primary source of food for Native Americans.  They would catch them in the weir, smoke and dry them so they could be eaten all winter long.  It was one of the most important sources of protein and calories for local Native Americans.  Along the Susquehanna near Harrisburg is Swatara Creek.  It got its name from a Native American word which means "where we feed on eels."  The small town of Shamokin, near two branches of the Susquehanna, means Eel Creek in Delaware Tribe language.  About a quarter of all freshwater fish in the Susquehanna are eel.  I can still remember going on vacation with my family along the Elk River in Maryland and catching eel that were said to have come from the Susquehanna River.  Mom would cook them in a frying pan.  Never could eat those things!  Looked and tasted awful...at least to me.  So, why did native Americans make these eel weirs with rocks?  Well, catching fish required very little effort and risk as compared to live animals what may be bigger than the native Americans.  Over time the Native Americans learned to operate their weirs in the fall when adult eels migrated down the Susquehanna.  The eel was on its way to spawn and die in the Atlantic Ocean's Sargasso Sea.  The eel is the only fish in the Susquehanna that spends its adult life in the river, then heads to the sea.  When Colonists arrived on the shores of North America, they took over the weirs and built more of them along the rivers.  Eel migration on the river was hindered when hydroelectric dams were constructed.  Recent years saw the federal government stepping up eel restoration efforts along the Susquehanna River.  So, if you ever fly over the Susquehanna river and look down and see a "V" in the water, it more than likely is an eel weir.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.