Muncy Creek Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Lycoming County Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat is Williamsport. The county is part of the North Central region of the commonwealth. Lycoming County compris ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. It is not to be confused with the similarly named Muncy Township directly north of it. The population was 3,575 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area. The

unincorporated village An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of Clarkstown is in Muncy Creek Township.

History

Muncy Creek Township was formed when Muncy Township was divided for the second time in 1797. The township is named for

Muncy Creek Muncy Creek (also known as Big Muncy Creek) is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, Sullivan County and Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Lycoming County, at Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is ap ...

, a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

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 ex ...

that flows through it. Some of the oldest settlements of Lycoming County are in Muncy Creek Township. The township also played an important role in the development and regular use of the

Pennsylvania Canal The Pennsylvania Canal, sometimes known as the Pennsylvania Canal system, was a complex system of transportation infrastructure improvements, including canals, dams, Lock (water transport), locks, tow paths, Navigable aqueduct, aqueducts, and vi ...

along the West Branch. The hamlet of Port Penn rose up along the section of the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

that passed through Muncy Creek Township. This hamlet, greatly reduced in population, was a very busy and sometimes dangerous place. Muncy Dam was built across the river at Muncy Creek Township. This dam provided the water that was needed to fill the canal along a stretch that began at Port Penn and ended at Sunbury. The dam, canal and

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, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

were all constructed for a considerable amount of money. Around these construction projects, the hamlet of Port Penn was built. Upon completion of the canal in 1834, it was a thriving community featuring a manufacturer of canal boats. Other businesses in Port Penn included hotels and taverns that provided housing and food for the men working on the canal, and a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

and a

saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

maker. There was a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

who also operated a grocery business, a

weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

, a wagon builder, a

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

, and an ice business, as well as several teachers, masons and general merchants. Port Penn quickly gained a reputation as being a dangerous place that attracted "unsavory" characters.

Gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

and prize fighting were two popular pastimes. Large amounts of alcohol were consumed by the participants, furthering the danger. An organized group of

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

ers had an operation in a cabin in Muncy Creek Township that passed fake coins onto the boatmen and others who passed by Port Penn on the canal. A riot took place during the construction of the canal that resulted in several deaths. A man named Barney McCue was responsible for at least two murders at Port Penn, one in 1870 and another in 1874. Many children drowned in the canal and river. The railroad that largely replaced the canal was not less dangerous, as several lives were claimed on the rails. Even the so-called "Last Raft" to be floated down the West Branch took several lives at Port Penn. The raft hit the railroad bridge and sent 45 passengers into the river, seven of whom died. The canal in Muncy Creek Township brought vast amounts of goods that were stored in warehouses in Port Penn and Muncy. The farmers and industrialists of Lycoming County used these warehouses to store their goods before they were sent south on the canal. The chief exports of the county were hogs, wheat, flour, lumber, dried and salted meats, leather, and whiskey.

Whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

was a very big business. At least 13

distilleries Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

in the area produced a total of of whiskey a day. Muncy Creek Township also was home to a thriving commercial fishing industry. The dam was an ideal point to catch fish. The bottleneck in the river created by the dam and canal locks caused the fish to be forced into one easy to reach location. Baskets were placed along the dam and locks, and tremendous amounts of fish and eels were easily caught. The dams and locks at Port Penn were destroyed by numerous floods in the

West Branch Susquehanna River Valley The West Branch Susquehanna Valley of central Pennsylvania, United States, in the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians, is the low-lying area draining into the West Branch Susquehanna River southeast of the Allegheny Front, northeast of the Bald Eagle ...

during the late 1800s. This caused the canal to be abandoned as it was replaced by the railroads. Port Penn was since faded away. There are several homes in the area, but as a hamlet it no longer exists. Parts of Port Penn have been annexed by the borough of Muncy and others are in Muncy Creek Township.

Lycoming College Lycoming College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1812, Lycoming College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church but operates as an ind ...

and the Muncy Historical Society have spearheaded an effort to uncover the history of Port Penn.

Geography

Muncy Creek Township is in southeastern Lycoming County and is bordered by the

to the west, Muncy Township to the north, Wolf Township to the northeast, Moreland Township to the east, and Montour and

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

counties to the south. The township surrounds the borough of Muncy, a separate municipality. Interstate 180 crosses the township, with access from Exits 10 and 13. I-180 leads northwest to Williamsport, the Lycoming

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and south to

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

near Milton. Pennsylvania Route 405 crosses the north-central part of the township, passing through Muncy borough and leading west to Montgomery and northeast to Hughesville.

Pennsylvania Route 442 Pennsylvania Route 442 (designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as PA 442) is a state highway located in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Lycoming and Columbia County, Pennsylvania, Columbia counties in Pennsylvania ...

begins at PA-405 near Muncy borough and leads southeast to Millville. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which are land and , or 3.36%, are water.

has its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the

in the township.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,487 people, 1,360 households, and 1,005 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,453 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.68%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.17%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.34% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.23% of the population. There were 1,360 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.86. In the township the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $33,403, and the median income for a family was $39,818. Males had a median income of $29,545 versus $22,554 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $15,500. About 8.2% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

* Muncy School District - public school

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial Lycoming County Map showing all townships, villages, boroughs, cities, county roads, rivers, creeks, and some streams
{{Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Townships in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1773 1773 establishments in Pennsylvania