He built a private stockade on this land in the Spring of 1776, close to present day Muncy, Pennsylvania, which he called "Fort Brady."

The John Brady homestead was perilously close to the leading edge of the frontier of that time, the Susquehanna River.

The McCarty brothers divided up the former Brady land, with William taking the portion between what is now West Water Street and Muncy Creek, and Benjamin that portion between West Water Street and the southern boundary.

In 1797, ten years after coming to Muncy, Benjamin McCarty conceived the idea of starting a town, and began laying out lots on what is now Main Street, and sold them to different parties.

[7] In fact many of the "Yankees", were all for slavery, especially in states closer to the Confederacy like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware.

[7] Hawley invited a now unknown speaker to come to Muncy to speak against slavery.

His arrival and resultant speech set off a tremendous riot that led to the near destruction of a local schoolhouse and the controversial pardoning of the rioters by Pennsylvania Governor David R. Porter.

The anti-slavery speaker gave his speech at a one-room school in Muncy in April 1842.

They continued the assault on Hawley's home until after midnight, when the local law enforcement officers were able to quell the riot and arrest the rioters.

[7] Abraham Updegraff was a member of the jury who was the driving force that led to the conviction of the rioters.

Updegraff, an ardent abolitionist who was a vital member of the Underground Railroad in Lycoming County, was able to convince his peers that the rioters deserved to be punished.

A third vote brought about the conviction of 13 of the 18 men charged in the Muncy Abolition Riot of 1842.

This conviction was essentially overturned by Governor David R. Porter when he pardoned the rioters several days later.

Governor Porter's statement of pardon said, "It is represented to me by highly respected citizens of Lycoming County, that this prosecution was instituted more with a view to the accomplishment of political ends than to serve the cause of law and order."

Porter stated that the speech was "notoriously offensive to the minds of those to whom they were addressed and were calculated to bring about a breach of the peace.

"[8] Historians believe that Porter pardoned the rioters under political pressure that was rampant, in the years prior to the Civil War, regarding the issue of slavery.

[10] According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2), all land.

It has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) and average monthly temperatures range from 26.8 °F in January to 72.3 °F in July.

The United States Postal Service operates the Muncy Post Office.