The West Branch Division of the Pennsylvania Canal ran from the canal basin at

Northumberland, Pennsylvania Northumberland is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,804 at the 2010 census. History A brewer named Reuben Haines, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded the town of Northumberland in ...

, at the confluence of the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exte ...

with the main stem of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

, north through Muncy, then west through Williamsport,

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

, and

Lock Haven Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

to its terminus in Farrandsville. At its southern terminus in the Northumberland basin, the West Branch Canal met the

North Branch Canal The North Branch Division of the Pennsylvania Canal was a historic waterway that ran along the North Branch Susquehanna River between southern New York and north-central Pennsylvania. At its southern end, the canal connected with the West Bran ...

and the Susquehanna Division Canal. Through these connections to other divisions of the Pennsylvania Canal, it formed part of a multi-state water transportation system including the

Main Line of Public Works The Main Line of Public Works was a package of legislation passed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826 to establish a means of transporting freight between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It funded the construction of various long-proposed can ...

. Between Northumberland and Muncy, the canal lay east of the river. Beyond Muncy, where the river makes a right-angle turn, the canal lay to the north. Started in 1828 and completed in 1835, it had 19 lift

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

overcoming a total vertical rise of about . The locks, beginning with No. 13, slightly upstream of the Northumberland Canal Basin, and ending with No. 34 at Lockport, across the river from Lock Haven, included two guard locks and an outlet lock in addition to the 19 lift locks.Shank, p.116 The state intended to extend the West Branch Canal from Farrandsville further upstream along the West Branch Susquehanna River to the mouth of

Sinnemahoning Creek Sinnemahoning Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Cameron and Clinton counties, Pennsylvania, in ...

. Plans called for of canal, but the project was abandoned along with the idea that the West Branch Canal would eventually connect to the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...

in western Pennsylvania.McCullough and Leuba, pp. 77–78

Extensions

Additions to the West Branch Canal included the Bald Eagle Crosscut Canal, which ran through Lock Haven and Flemington along Bald Eagle Creek.Shank, pp. 52–53 It linked the West Branch Canal to a privately financed addition, the

Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation The Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation Company was a canal company in central Pennsylvania intended to link the iron industry of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, with the Pennsylvania canal system. Opened for half its length in 1837, the remainder o ...

, that extended the canal system another to Bellefonte along Bald Eagle and

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

creeks. Beginning in 1837, large quantities of

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...

and

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...

traveled to distant markets via these canals. The Lock Haven Dam (also known as the Dunnstown Dam), was built in the 19th century primarily to provide water to the West Branch Canal. Canal boats crossed the pool behind the dam using a

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

between Lock No. 35 on the Lock Haven (Bald Eagle Crosscut Canal) side of the river and Lock No. 34 on the Lockport (West Branch Canal) side, about downriver from the

Jay Street Bridge The Jay Street Bridge crosses the West Branch Susquehanna River between Lock Haven on the south bank and Lockport on the north. The original structure, completed for the Lock Haven Bridge Company by the E. Kirkbride Company in 1852, was a covered ...

. In 1833, the state added a canal, the Lewisburg Cut, to connect the town of Lewisburg, north of Northumberland, to the system. The privately financed Muncy Cut, also only long, added a branch canal into Muncy, north of Northumberland.

Locks

Bald Eagle Crosscut Canal at Main Street

Remnants

Remnants of the canal exist along the West Branch Susquehanna River between Northumberland and Lock Haven. Canal walls made of stone still stand near Muncy, while other canal and lock remnants are preserved near Lock Haven. Archaeological work and restoration began in 2005 at the Muncy Canal Heritage Park and Nature Trail, including remains of a

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport ...

, a lock, a canal wall, and a lock tender's house. Part of the Bald Eagle Crosscut Canal still flows along Bald Eagle Creek through Flemington. Lock No. 32 has been preserved in Jersey Shore.

Points of interest

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

Works cited

* McCullough, Robert, and Leuba, Walter (1973)

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

''The Pennsylvania Main Line Canal''. York, Pennsylvania: The American Canal and Transportation Center. * Shank, William H. (1986)

981 Year 981 ( CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Births * Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi, Arab statesman (d. 1027) * Giovanni Orseolo, Venetian ...

''The Amazing Pennsylvania Canals'' (150th Anniversary Edition). York, Pennsylvania: The American Canal and Transportation Center. .

External links

* * * *
Pennsylvania Canal SocietyAmerican Canal Society
{{GeoGroupTemplate Canals in Pennsylvania Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Clinton County, Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Union County, Pennsylvania West Branch Susquehanna River Canals opened in 1835