| Murderers Creek | |
| Name Other: | Mudenaer's Creek, Mudder Creek |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | New York |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Hudson Valley |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Greene |
| Subdivision Type5: | Towns |
| Subdivision Name5: | Athens, New York, |
| Length: | 0.68miles |
| Source1: | Sleepy Hollow Lake |
| Source1 Location: | Athens, New York |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 42.2811°N -73.8062°W |
| Mouth: | Hudson River at Athens, New York |
| Mouth Location: | Athens, New York |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 42.2722°N -73.8011°W |
| River System: | Hudson River |
Murderers Creek (or Murderer's Creek) is a creek in upstate New York, United States, that flows into the Hudson River in Greene County, New York, just north of the town of Athens. It should not be confused with Moodna Creek, which is in Orange County and is also sometimes called "Murderer's Creek".
The first reference to the name "Murderer's Kill" is from July 18, 1673 in a deed of land to Wyntje Harmense.[1] First governmental reference to the creek is in the New York State Act of March 7, 1788, as "...at the South Bank of the Mouth of the Murderer’s-Kill, at Lunenburgh" (Lunenburgh was the original name of Athens).[2] The name is thought to derive from Middle Dutch, "Mother's Creek", Dutch, Middle (ca.1050-1350);: moeder and kille. It may have also been from the Middle Dutch Dutch, Middle (ca.1050-1350);: modder meaning "muddy" similar to the river of the same name in Delaware, although the possessive apostrophe indicates otherwise.
In 1813, the body of a young woman named Sally Hamilton was found in the creek about half a mile north of its mouth. Local lore has it that the modern name of the creek originated from this event. Although the name predated the event by 140 years.[3]