 The West Branch Canal , which opened in 1834 , ran 73 miles ( 117 km ) from Northumberland to <unk> , about 5 miles ( 8 km ) upstream from Lock Haven . A state @-@ funded extension called the Bald Eagle Cut ran from the West Branch through Lock Haven and Flemington to Bald Eagle Creek . A privately funded extension , the Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation , eventually reached <unk> , 24 miles ( 39 km ) upstream . Lock Haven 's founder , Jeremiah Church , and his brother , Willard , chose the town site in 1833 partly because of the river , the creek , and the canal . Church named the town Lock Haven because it had a canal lock and because it was a haven for loggers , <unk> , and other travelers . Over the next quarter century , canal boats 12 feet ( 4 m ) wide and 80 feet ( 24 m ) long carried passengers and mail as well as cargo such as coal , ashes for <unk> and soap , <unk> , food , furniture , dry goods , and clothing . A rapid increase in Lock Haven 's population ( to 830 by 1850 ) followed the opening of the canal . 
