MCDONALD CREEK (Walker County). McDonald Creek, a spring-fed perennial stream, rises near Huntsville in central Walker County (at 30°42' N, 95°33' W) and flows southwest for eleven miles to its mouth on Lake Conroe (at 30°35' N, 95°39' W). It traverses gently rolling to sloping terrain, surfaced by sandy loam that near the stream banks supports mixed woods of loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, sweetgum, blackgum, elm, pecan, black hickory, water oak, post oak, and willow oak. The middle course of the creek follows the northwestern boundary of the Sam Houston National Forest.^qv Anglo-American settlement in the vicinity began in the mid-1830s. In 1836 Huntsville was founded near the headwaters. The Bath community was established on the west bank of the lower creek in the mid-1800s. The Sunset Lake and Club Lake communities are on the middle creek. The stream is named for William McDonald, original grantee of a tract on the middle creek.