Bald Eagle Cross-Cut Canal Lock, North of Water Street along West Branch of Susquehanna River South bank, 500 feet East of Jay Street Bridge, Lock Haven, Clinton County, PA

Significance: Lock No. 35 is a historically significant remnant of the Pennsylvania state-built canal system. The lock is the sole surviving structure of the Bald Eagle Cross-Cut Canal, a lateral line constructed off of the larger West Branch Pennsylvania Canal. The lock is often referred to as the Bald Eagle Cross-Cut Canal outlet lock as well as Lock No. 35 of the West Branch Pennsylvania Canal. Man-made waterways did much to economically develop the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River from 1834 to 1889 by linking the valley with larger markets to the east. The system also turned Lock Haven into a center for transporting, processing, and distributing agricultural products, iron and coal, and lumber. Lock No. 35 was one of nineteenth locks built within the West Branch Pennsylvania Canal system in the 1830s and 1840s. Each lock employed the same materials and conformed to the same dimensions. No. 35 was unique, however, in that it was specially designed to resist floodwaters entering from the river. Reversed gates and higher head walls caused the floodwaters to work with the lock, instead of against it, thus saving the lock and the canal from permanent damage. In the 1870s, the West Branch valley waterways were reworked by the Pennsylvania Canal Company. No. 35 survives as a good example of the 1830s and 1870s periods of lock construction in the West Branch valley, based on evidence uncovered during recent excavations. Other locks in the West Branch system have survived, some in worse condition, others in better condition. What sets No. 35 apart is its unique flood-resistant design.
Survey number: HAER PA-187
Building/structure dates: ca. 1834 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1873- 1874 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1889 Subsequent Work