West Branch Pennsylvania Canal, Lock No. 34 Lock Keeper's House, South of State Route 664 along North bank of West Branch of Susquehanna River, 2,000 feet East of Jay Street Bridge, Lock Haven, Clinton County, PA

Significance: The lock keeper's house at Lock No. 34 (see HAER No. PA-188-A) is a historically significant remnant of the Pennsylvania state-built canal system. Part of the West Branch Pennsylvania Canal (see HAER No. PA-188), this c. 1934 resources was one element of a transportation system that did much to economically develop the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River from 183 to 1889 and that served to catapult Lock Haven and neighboring Lockport to a lesser extent into a center for transporting, processing, and distributing agricultural products, iron and coal, and lumber. The lock keeper's house was constructed as a residence for the attending lock keeper, who was required to tend the lock on a twenty-four-hour basis. The existence of a relatively intact lock and keeper's house is rare, adding to the property's significance. The house is architecturally significant as one of the oldest existing buildings in Lower Lockport. The house maintains its architectural integrity through the retention of vernacular Greek Revival stylistic details and the core of its original form. The house is a typical example of lock keeper's houses along the West Branch Pennsylvania Canal, in that the original section of the house adheres to the standard dimensions, use of materials, and architectural styling dictated in a plan book developed for the West Branch Pennsylvania Canal and evident in surviving examples of lock keeper's houses along the former canal.
Survey number: HAER PA-188-B
Building/structure dates: ca. 1834 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: after. 1850- before. 1900 Subsequent Work