York Haven, PA

York Haven grew where the Susquehanna River offered transportation, waterpower, and a way around the rapids at Conewago Falls. The York Haven Company laid out the town in 1814, with an upper section on the hill and a lower section beside the canal. The Conewago Canal helped boats move past the falls, while mills, hotels, and shops gave the river landing an early commercial life. The borough was incorporated in 1892.

Industry kept following the river. A large paper mill opened on the old mill site in 1880, and the York Haven power plant built its dam in 1904. Brunner Island’s generating station remains a major feature along the Susquehanna near Wago Road. York Haven is now part of the York–Hanover area and is served by Northeastern York School District. The borough’s small streets, river views, canal remnants, and working infrastructure fit together as pieces of a place shaped by water and movement. The old canal corridor and dam still give the borough its river-town profile.