Lock Haven, Pennsylvania

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Lock Haven is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County^GR6, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the principal city of and is included in the Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Williamsport, Pennsylvania-Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Combined Statistical Area.

Contents 1 Population 2 Geography 3 History 3.1 Tropical Storm Agnes flood of 1972 3.2 History since 1972 4 Demographics 5 Notable people born and or raised in Lock Haven 6 Businesses in Lock Haven 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Population

In 1900, 7,210 people lived in Lock Haven. in 1910, 7,772. in 1940, 10,810. In 1982, about 8,500; 2,500 of whom were college students at Lock Haven University.^[1] In the 2000 census, the population was 9,149.

[edit] Geography

The city of Lock Haven is located at 41°8′4″N, 77°27′1″W (41.134388, -77.450347)^GR1, in northern Pennsylvania, on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. It is 24 miles (39 km) west-southwest of Williamsport.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.9 km² (2.7 mi²). 6.5 km² (2.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (5.64%) is water.

[edit] History

• 1736 - The Six Nations of the Iroquois, headquartered in New York, conquer the Indian tribes of Pennsylvania.
• November 1768 - the British purchase lands south of the West Branch of the Susquehanna from the Six Nations of the Iroquois at Fort Stanwix, New York, for ten thousand pounds.
• 1768 - General Potter, who served under Washington during the Revolutionary War, surveyed the lands purchased from the Indians up the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.
• 1768 to 1784 - White settlers begin taking up lands which had not been purchased by treaty from the Iroquois. After repeated warnings to leave, the Iroquois attempt to force the settlers from their lands by conducting numerous raids against these settlers. These Indian raids were especially unpleasant between 1778 and 1779.
• 1769 - Lock Haven was settled
• March 15, 1784 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• October 1784 - A treaty was made at Fort Stanwix, New York between the United States and the Six Nations of the Iroquois, by which all the remaining Indian territory was transferred to the state. This land deal, known as “the Last Purchase”, included land in the present counties of Bradford, Tioga, Potter, McKean, Lycoming, Clinton, Cameron, Elk, Clearfield, Indiana, Jefferson, Forest, Warren, Armstrong, Clarion, Butler, Venango, Allegheny, Beaver, Lawrence, Mercer, Crawford, and Erie.
• January 1785 - Fort Stanwix Treaty confirmed by the Wyandot and Delaware Indians.
• October 5, 1786 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries, called the "The Great Pumpkin Flood" due to many pumpkins that floated away.
• October 1, 1787 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• 1788 - A group of New England settlers, under General Rufus Putnam, traveled up the West Branch of the Susquehanna and onto the Sinnemahoning in canoes, then they trekked over the Alleghenies to settle in Ohio.
• April 1800 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• April 23, 1804 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• November 20, 1810 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries. Also called "The Great Pumpkin Flood"
• Early 1800s - Log floating along the Susquehanna commences. During the logging age, the settlement came to be known as a resting place in the canals and locks. Thus, appropriately it became known as Lock Haven, a "haven in the locks". Logs would travel down the West Branch of the Susquehanna River to Lycoming County where they would make their stop at Williamsport.
• July 20, 1824 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• March 5, 1831 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• May 17, 1834 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• 1833 - Lock Haven incorporated as a town by Jeremiah and Willard Church.
• 1844 - Lock Haven incorporated as a borough
• 1835 - Commercial log rafting begins.
• February 12, 1837 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• 1839 - Clinton County formed from Centre and Lycoming Counties.
• October 9, 1847 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• February 7, 1853 - Major flood of Susquehanna and it tributaries.
• April 27, 1861 - Hardy mountaineer riflemen from McKean, Elk and Cameron Counties, who had adopted the Bucktail as an insignia, met at Driftwood, Pennsylvania. There they built rafts by which they transported themselves downstream to Lock Haven, then by train to Camp Curtin at Harrisburg.
• September 28, 1861 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• March 17, 1865 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries, called the "St. Patrick's Day Flood".
• 1865 - Commercial log rafting comes to an end.
• 1870 - Lock Haven incorporated as a city
• February 1872 - Major flood of Susquehanna and it tributaries caused by ice breakup.
• May 30 - June 1, 1889 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries caused by a major storm from the west. Flood severely damages towns of Renovo, Lock Haven, Williamsport and Sunbury.
• 1894 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• March 18, 1936 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and it tributaries, known as the "St. Patrick's Day Flood".
• 1937 - William T. Piper Sr. chooses to build the Piper Aircraft Company factory in Lock Haven after the company's Taylor Aircraft manufacturing facilities in Bradford, Pennsylvania were destroyed by fire. The Piper facilities started in a building that once housed a silk mill. As the company grew, the original mill was stretched via numerous additions, and across the street, on the grounds of Lock Haven airport, was built an engineering facility and an administrative office building.
• 1946 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
• 1948 - The town's team won the Little League World Series.
• 1964 - Major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries.

[edit] Tropical Storm Agnes flood of 1972

Tropical Storm Agnes, just under hurricane strength, made landfall on 22 June 1972 near New York City. The storm merged with a non-tropical low on 23 June, with the combined system affecting the northeastern United States until 25 June.^[2] The combination produced widespread rains of 6 to 12 inches with local amounts up to 19 inches in western Schuylkill County in Pennsylvania ^[3].

The storm dumped 28 trillion, 50 billion gallons of water on the Susquehanna basin. The worst flooding was along the Genesee River, the Canisteo River, and the Chemung River in southwestern and south central New York. The latter two flowed into the Susquehanna River which was already swollen due to winter snow runoff, and flooding continued all the way down this river. It set a flood record at, and threatened to overtop, the Conowingo Dam near the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland.

Like Elmira, New York, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and other communities along the rivers, Lock Haven was flooded. The Hammerhill Paper Company and Piper Aircraft Company both suffered great damage. Piper Aircraft surveyed the damage to their factory and inventory, they permanently shut down production of the Comanche and Twin Comanche aircraft that were made there, due to the destruction of the tooling.

[edit] History since 1972

• 1972 - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was called in to study flood protection in the area. No progress is made for ten years.
• 1973 - Due to the effects of the 1972 flood, Lock Haven and surrounding areas are in a "desperate economic situation, even after a $18 million federal/state redevelopment project."^[1]
• Spring 1976 - A log raft is floated down the West Branch of the Susquehanna to commemorate the United States bicentennial.
• 1982 - Army Corps of Engineers flood protection project is stymied by the need for money from federal appropriations. Lock Haven uses Redevelopment funds to incorporate the Lock Haven Flood Protection Planning Board (FPPB) under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act.^[1]
• 1984 - Piper Aircraft, then owned by Lear-Siegler, ceases all operations in Lock Haven and consolidates to Vero Beach, Florida.
• 1990 or 1991 - the Lock Haven Area Flood Protection Authority formed^[1]
• 1992 - Construction begins on $86 million Lock Haven Local Flood Protection Project to permanently protect the city from the floods which have been inundating the city for more than 100 years. The project involved the construction of a 36,000-ft. levee and a 1,000-ft. floodwall along the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, closure structures, ponding areas and a pumping station. It also required the relocation of several roads and facilities.
• 1995 - Flood protection project complete.^[1]
• 1996 - Flooding of Susquehanna River provides first test for flood protection system, which works, preventing millions of dollars of damage.^[1]
• 1995 - the Piper Aviation Museum was formed, and the non-profit corporation purchased the former Piper Aircraft engineering building to house the museum.
• January 19-20, 1996 - Flood protection system successfully defends the city from major flood of the Susquehanna and its tributaries following melt of winter snowfall.
• September 2004 - Flood protection system successfully defends the city from rising waters due to rain from Hurricane Ivan.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 9,149 people, 3,306 households, and 1,659 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,407.4/km² (3,643.9/mi²). There were 3,565 housing units at an average density of 548.4/km² (1,419.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.26% White, 1.43% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.

There were 3,306 households out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.0% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.8% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 16.7% under the age of 18, 33.2% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 14.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 82.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,731, and the median income for a family was $28,619. Males had a median income of $27,310 versus $18,463 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,948. About 18.6% of families and 30.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.4% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable people born and or raised in Lock Haven

• Alison Bechdel - cartoonist. She was born in Lock Haven but is more linked to Vermont. She is best known for her cartoons Dykes To Watch Out For and Fun Home.
• John Sloan Dickey - diplomat, intellectual and President of Dartmouth from 1945 to 1970.
• Robbie Gould - Place kicker and pro bowler for the Chicago Bears.
• Alexander McDonald - United States Senator for Arkansas from 1868 to 1871.
• John French Sloan - artist, born in Lock Haven.

[edit] Businesses in Lock Haven

*Piper Aircraft factory (until 1984)

• The Piper Airplane Museum[1] (since 1995)
• Hammerhill Paper Company
• Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Intergovernmental Success in Multi-Component Flood Mitigation: The Lock Haven Flood Protection Project Experience" [www.ucowr.siu.edu/updates/130/11%20yowell.pdf PDF] by Robert Yowell of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY WATER RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, ISSUE 129, PAGES 46-48, MARCH 2005
2. ^ NOAA history of Tropical Storm Agnes
3. ^ NOAA rain data from Agnes

• "Summary of Significant Floods in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, 1970 Through 1989" on the web site of US Geological Survey

[edit] External links

• City of Lock Haven web site
• Article "a visit to the Piper Museum"

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 41.134388° -77.450347°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

	v • d • e  Municipalities and Communities of Clinton County, Pennsylvania County Seat: Lock Haven
Boroughs	Avis | Beech Creek | Flemington | Lock Haven | Loganton | Mill Hall | Renovo | South Renovo
Townships	Allison | Bald Eagle | Beech Creek | Castanea | Chapman | Colebrook | Crawford | Dunnstable | East Keating | Gallagher | Greene | Grugan | Lamar | Leidy | Logan | Noyes | Pine Creek | Porter | Wayne | West Keating | Woodward
Communities and CDPs	Castanea | Dunnstown