Duffin's Creek is located in
Durham Region of
Ontario,
Canada. Locally, the name Duffin's Creek is used to refer to any of 3 distinct yet connected streams in the
Pickering and
Ajax area.
West Duffin's Creek is 35km long and lies in the city of
Pickering. It rises from the hamlet of
Goodwood and flows south-east through the hamlet of
Whitevale and down the
Seaton Valley. There it turns east and crosses over into the town of
Ajax and joins the
East Duffin’s Creek.
East Duffin's Creek rises farther north than the western branch, near the hamlet of
Balsam in
Pickering. The East Duffin’s flows almost directly south, passing through the
Greenwood Conservation Area and into
Ajax.
The east and west branches of the river meet in the area of
Ajax called
Pickering Village. From that point to its mouth on
Lake Ontario, the river is named
Duffin's Creek.
The creek is named for an
Irish trapper named
Duffin who lived in the area in the 1780s. He built a cabin near the mouth of the creek but is only know to have lived in the area for a few years. Duffin disappeared around 1790 and it is suspected that he was
murdered.
Augustus Jones, Deputy Provincial
Land Surveyor, surveyed the area around Duffin’s Creek in 1791. Duffin's name was already connected with the creek and area by that time, so the river was officially named after him. The first settlement, which was established in 1801 near what is now
Pickering Village, was also known as Duffin's Creek.
Sources:
http://www.townofajax.com/history/pickering.asp
http://www.tap.net/~daver/duffin.html