History of The Townships of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania - Muncy Creek Township

Muncy Creek Township

Muncy Creek Township was formed when Muncy Township was divided for the second time in 1797. The township is named for Muncy Creek a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River that flows threw 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 along the West Branch Susquehanna River. The hamlet of Port Penn rose up along the section of the canal that passed through Muncy Creek Township. This hamlet, since largely abandoned, 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 of canal that began at Port Penn and ended at Sunbury. The dam, canal and towing path 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 already 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 and a saddle maker. There was a butcher that also operated had a grocery business, a weaver, a wagon builder, a shoemaker, an ice business, as well as several teachers, masons and general merchants.

Port Penn quickly gained a reputation was being a dangerous place that attracted "unsavory" characters. Gambling and prize fighting were two popular past times. Large amounts of alcohol were consumed by the participants furthering the danger. An organized group of counterfeiters had an operation in a cabin in Muncy Creek Township that passed fake coins onto the boatmen and others that 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 is responsible for at least two murders at Port Penn, one in 1870 and another four years later 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 which 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 was a very big business. At least 13 distilleries in the area produced and output of 1,200 to 1,500 gallons 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 caused 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 during the late 19th century. 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 and the Muncy Historical Society have spearheaded an effort to uncover the history of Port Penn.