Сопе Крик: Река в округе Кобб, Джорджия

Cobb County, Georgia

Sope Creek is an 11.6 mile (19 km) stream located in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is a significant tributary of the Chattahoochee River. It was known as Soap Creek during the 19th century. A section of Sope Creek runs through the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. The Sope Creek Ruins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sope Creek starts within the city of Marietta proper, on the west side of Interstate 75, on the northeastern portion of State Route 120 Alternate (former northern half of State Route 120 Loop, now known as North Marietta Parkway. The creek begins as a spring, first evident emerging out of a culvert under Sessions Street, where it trickles southward and serves as the rear property line for the historic homes on lots facing Church Street (to the west), and Cherokee Street (to the east). The creek then travels in a culvert under the intersection of Cherokee Street and North Marietta Parkway, then under the parking lot of the Police Department/Cobb 911 Center at the southeast corner of the intersection. Thereafter, the creek travels east, parallel with SR 120 Alt., turning southeast around the same point as the road. It then separates from road, continuing southeast, as the road bends south. It crosses Roswell Road (the main Georgia 120), and travels in a sidewinder fashion to the east for the next 4 mile (6 km). Along the way, Sewell Mill Creek and Bishop Creek empty into Sope Creek. At this point, the creek turns south southeast and crosses Lower Roswell Road. It travels in this direction for the next 2 mile (3 km), crossing Paper Mill Road and Columns Drive, before emptying into the Chattahoochee River. From beginning to end, Sope Creek falls nearly 300 feet (91 m) over the course of approximately 12 mile (19 km). In the last 2 mile (3 km), Sope Creek cuts through the palisades that formed on both sides of the Chattahoochee, forming a small gorge based around the creek. The most important feature of the creek is its name recognition. With one exception, Sope Creek is usually not treated as a major entity until the last 2 mile (3 km). The exception is an apartment complex close to the crossing of Roswell Road, near the 6 mile (10 km) mark. Near the end of the creek, the name of Sope Creek has more appeal to the public, and therefore, it is seen in names, such as Sope Creek Elementary School, Sope Creek Nature Trails, and Sope Creek Homes.

The stream gauge on Sope Creek (MARG1) is mounted to the south side of the Lower Roswell Road bridge, at (NAD83). This is 881.37 feet (269 m) above sea level (NGVD29), and receives flow from a drainage area of 29.2 square miles (76 km2). The gauge on Sewell Mill Creek (SMCG1) is located at Roswell Road (Georgia 120) at (NAD27), where it has an area of 12.57 square miles (33 km2), and an elevation of 920 feet (280 m) above sea level (NGVD29).

Paper Mill Road crosses the creek about 1 mile (2 km) upstream from the point where the Sope empties into the Chattahoochee. Paper Mill Road has to wind down the gorge in order to cross over the creek. At the crossing, circa 1960, lay one of Cobb County's two remaining covered bridges; the other crossed Nickajack Creek near Smyrna. The Sope Creek Bridge was a state declared historic structure and only had a weight capacity of 2000 pounds (one U. S. ton). In 1963, a grossly overweight truck crossed the bridge and damaged the support structure. That summer, the structure was reinforced with steel shanks. On March 29, 1964, the covered bridge burned to the ground, leaving behind only the steel shanks and masonry. Arson was suspected, as the Nickajack Covered Bridge (now known as Concord Covered Bridge) had been partially burned only a few weeks prior. The Paper Mill Road bridge was reconstructed in 1970 and the entire structure was replaced with an improved, widened bridge with sidewalks in 2013.

The origin of the creek's name is not documented. A false etymology has evolved. There are conflicting authorities supporting at least two versions:

The Atlanta Journal once said of the area, "Sope Creek, particularly in the springtime, is a place of unusual beauty. A quaint old covered bridge spans the stream just below where the log dam used to be. The stream is strewn with great boulders and the water dashes over these in a series of cascades, causing such masses of foam that they look like soapsuds." There are also 19th century references to Soap Creek, which may simply be misspellings of Sope.

Located at the intersection of Paper Mill Road and Sope Creek are old industrial ruins. These ruins are the remnants of a larger manufacturing complex which drew on the waterpower that the creek produced. During the period 1850 to 1940, a succession of enterprises, from a (fully integrated) paper mill, twine plant, flour mill and hydroelectric power plant occupied an area of about one mile along the creek. The paper mill at Sope Creek was run by Marietta Paper Mills and incorporated on December 19, 1859, possibly by Andrew Schofield Edmondston and Saxon A. Anderson. Facilities at the paper mill included a mill, oil room, office, mill sluice (raceway), storeroom, dam, machine shop, pulp grinding mill, and two shelters. The ruins were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

In 1851, James Isom founded a ferry that crossed the Chattahoochee at the mouth of Sope Creek, and came to own a great deal of land and three slaves, and to be considered wealthy. He died in 1866, and his son in law John Heard took over the operations, running the ferry as Heard's Ferry until 1890.