 It sprung up as a shanty town during the construction of the Pennsylvania Canal.The contractors building the canal built a shanty town for the laborers who were building the canal.According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 13.6 square miles (35.3 km2).13.2 square miles (34.1 km2) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km2) of it (3.45%) is water.