Stories From The Muncy Dam

 

"The stretch of water from Port Penn to Muncy dam was a very important place during the old rafting days on the river. Scores of immense timber rafts tied up there, each waiting its turn to run the chute in the dam. 

Muncy Dam as shown on the 1861 Lycoming County Map

There was a famous hotel of unsavory reputation located just above the dam which was a welcome resort for the red-shirted lumbermen while waiting their chance to "shoot the chute." Gambling, drinking, prize fighting and other amusements of a like character were common occurrences. At this point there was also located at one time one of the most dangerous gangs of counterfeiters in the country. They made their spurious coin in a cabin back of the hotel and unloaded it on the rivermen. The gang eluded the officers of the law for a long time, but was finally run down, convicted and sent to prison.

 This place was also the scene of a serious riot during the construction of the canal which resulted in the killing of several men. 

Muncy dam has always been a favorite place for fishing and there is, perhaps even now, no place on the river where one can find better sport. While the canal was still in existence it was a famous place for eels. Baskets were placed at the head of the canal where the water flowed into it and as many as eighteen hundred eels have been known to have been taken in a single night." History of Lycoming County, by Thomas W. Lloyd

 "Muncy dam built in 1828 at a cost of 23,578.64 for the Pennsylvania canal lies just below [Port Penn].   At the time of its erection it was regarded as a fine piece of engineering work. It was constructed of crib-work filled with stone and covered with spars... The dam is twelve feet high from the bottom of the river..... the shute frequently gets out of order, and for years it has been a terror to raftsmen, who have to pass through it with their crafts" - From the History of Lycoming County by Meginness, 1892

It's difficult to even imagine this today - our river is so much different than it was in 1870.   But in 1870, large, heavy, wooden rafts ran down the Susquehanna all the way from above Williamsport to Harrisburg and beyond. It was a dangerous trip.

On April 20th 1870 - John Mauck of Milton and a fellow raftsman drowned at Muncy Creek while trying to run a chute

Read more about log rafting on the Susquehanna River:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/02/first-plane-to-land-in-selinsgrove.html

A later wreck, in November of 1889, gives a better picture of the chute at Muncy:

"On Wednesday evening of last week, two ark loads of men, tools and provisions attempted to run through the chute at Muncy Dam, when they struck a log and sand, completely wrecking the whole outfit.  The party were on their way to Fisher's Island to get out the logs and lumber lodged there.  The loss in tools and provisions amounts to about $300" [$300 in 1889 is about the equivalent of $10,000 in 2024]

Postcard Of The Dam, 1907

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DAM DISMANTLED

1910

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Muncy Dam By Moonight

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Popular Fishing Spot

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In 1899, 37 inch 18lb carp were caught at Muncy Dam

In the 1860's, a local historian reported on how the shad congregated below the raft chute of Muncy Dam at Lawson's Island.  The shad repeatedly tried to pass upstream through the chute, but were swept back again by the swift current.

The Miltonian, 1910

1912

"I remember fishing days at Muncy Dam.  Back in those days when transportation was not as swift as it was today and when miles were not annihilated as quickly as they are today, a fishing trip to Muncy Dam was a real experience and a real outing.  Gone are those days.  Of all the splendid fishing places on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River - and they were numerous then - Muncy Dam perhaps was the best. Now it is hardly more than a memory- but we keep fishing hoping against hope that fish may be able to survive and propagate in this polluted stream." - Leaves From The Diary Of A Trout Fisherman, Milton, 1930

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RAFTING THE CHUTE

More Stories & Accidents At Muncy Dam

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The Last Raft Crash At Muncy, 1938

See more here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-last-raft.html

It was at Muncy that the 1938 "Last Raft" disaster occurred.  In articles about the crash, mention is made of "the collapse of a raft at Muncy 93 years ago [1845].

For what it's worth, Henry Shoemaker mentioned recalling a story of a raft from Clearfield capsizing as it went through the chute at Muncy Dam on May 6th 1843.  According to Shoemaker, 4 men were drowned in that wreck.

Amos Bloom, a retired rafter in Sunbury who began his career on the river "as a boy in the opening month of the Civil War", was interviewed after the last raft disaster in 1938.  In his interview he said:

"I crashed at Muncy myself 68 years ago, but fortunately there was no loss of life and we were tied up only five hours.  My raft was tied along side another, with roped at either end and in the middle,  The two side by side could get through the chutes at the Williamsport Dam.

There was a dam at Muncy, which has been carried away, and also other dams with chutes for other rafts.  

We always came down the right side of he river, until we hit the bend when we had to cross to get through the chute at Muncy, which was on the left side of the river going down.

While crossing over we had to cross under two bridges, which was some job.  I was the second pilot, and as we approached the covered wagon bridge I saw we were not going to make it. 

The other raft hit the pier and stopped.  The ropes holding my raft to the other broke, and I went through safely.  

The other raft swung around just as the one did on Sunday, and struck on the piers.  I kept going until I saw a raft ahead, snubbed to a tree.  I yelled that i had no control.  They loosened the rope and eased the impact when my raft his it.  They then tied my raft fast.

In the meantime the other raft struck to the piers of the wagon bridge until they took it apart.  They put it together again after floating it past the bridge.  The delay was only five hours."

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PARK AT MUNCY DAM

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September 1908

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TWO BROTHERS ON THEIR WAY TO MILTON IN CANOE
HAVE NARROW ESCAPE FROM DROWNING AT MUNCY DAM

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The Miltonian, May 1912

"Two brothers, C. Boyd Fisher and Robert J. Fisher, members of the Williamsport Canoe Club, had a frightful experience Sunday morning enroute to Milton with five other members of the club, who were making the initial club trip down the river. When the party reached Sylvan Dell they were storm stayed and after the worst o it passed over all but the Fisher brothers continued on the trip to this place, but an hour later they also decided they would make the trip and started alone down the river and in their hurry tried to "shoot" Muncy Dam, being expert canoeists and always going through they anticipated easy sailing, but a big wave threw their canoe sideways and both were pitched into the swirling water. Robert was turned round and round in an eddy close to the dam and it was some time before he could win his way to the shore, and was almost exhausted when on the bank.

He thought his brother was drowned, and phoned the sad news to his relatives, but Boyd was not dead, he had been plunged into the swift current and carried rapidly down stream, many hundred yards below and when he reached the bank he could see nothing of his brother and he thuoght him drowned. He rushed to a farm house broken hearted but there found his sorrowing brother and their tears were soon turned to those of thankfulness and they phoned the glad news home. The canoe was found at Montgomery and was in the hands of the other boys who had stopped at Montgomery for their dinner and were on their way down to the river for their canoes, when they learned that there had been a fatal drowning at Muncy dam. They hurried to the river and there found the canoe, which had been captured by men in the stream while floating upside down. The club boys started back to the dam but before they reached there found the Fisher brothers coming down.

The Fishers did not finish the trip, returning home, but the other boys went on to Milton returning that night." - Miltonian, 1912

In 1923, a 23 year old Milton girl drowned at Muncy Dam.

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MURDER AT MUNCY DAM?

William Updegraff, 1905

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No, it was not actually a murder.  William Updegraff was the victim of an attempted murder earlier, in the same area, but  when he was located in 1905, it was ruled an accidental drowning.

But....
"The first murder trial in Lycoming County in which there was a conviction was that of John Price for the murder of an Irish man named Miller, near Muncy Dam, about February 1830. The murderer was convicted and imprisoned for a short time. (However, Meginness, in his Book of Murders, says he was found not guilty.)

The second murder, likewise connected with Muncy Dam, occurred October 14, 1835, when John Earls killed his wife, Catherine, by administration of arsenic in a cup of chocolate. He was the first person hanged in Lycoming County. His faithful (common law) wife lay on her bed of confinement. She died in great agony, and as Earls had been in the habit of abusing his wife, coupled with the fact that a short time before her death, Earls had bought a quantity of white arsenic at the apothecary shop of Bruner and Dawson in Muncy, he was at once suspected. Muncy Dam at that period was a hotbed of lawlessness; counterfeiting and horse-stealing being two of the outstanding accomplishments of this group of rivermen and fishermen." From Lycoming Law   

  Read about the John Earls Trial Here

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READ MORE

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From Wikipedia:

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 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 and a saddle maker. There was a butcher who also operated a grocery business, a weaver, a wagon builder, a shoemaker, 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 and prize fighting were two popular pastimes. 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 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.

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In 1828 the Muncy Dam was built, and in 1830 the canal was completed to the dam from Northumberland. In 1833 it was finished as far as Williamsport. This was the great improvement of that age, and gave new life to the business of the West Branch. - Gernerd, J. M. M., The Muncy Valley: Snap-Shots of Scenery, Geology and History, 1909, Press of the Gazette and Bulletin, Williamsport PA

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 The space between the stone and abutments is 973 feet; the wier of the dam is 863 feet, the shute is thirty-eight feet wide, the height of the comb of the dam nine feet, and the comb of the shute five feet above low water mark of the river. 

The dam is twelve feet high from the bottom of the river. The towing path around the base of Muncy Hills extends from the dam to the head of slackwater navigation., near Port Penn, a distance of four miles, and cost the State $15,369.06. 

The dam, is still intact, but the shute frequently gets out of order, and for years it has been a terror to raftsmen, who have to pass through it with their crafts. The canal has been abandoned above the dam." - From the History of Lycoming County by Meginness, 1892

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An Index Of Stories, Photos & History From the Lumbering Area

Particularly Along The West Branch Of The Susquehanna River