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Schuylkill Haven is a borough in Schuylkill County , Pennsylvania , four miles (6 km) south of Pottsville , in the United States . Early in the twentieth century, it had large car shops, underwear and shoe factories, rolling mills, and pipe mills. In 1900 , 3,654 people lived here; in 1910 , 4,747; and in 1940 , 6,518 people lived here. In the census of 2000 , the borough population was 5,548. Schuylkill Haven was incorporated as a borough on June 11 , 1840 , from North Manheim Township. Schuylkill Haven's history was built upon the Schuylkill canal and railroad transportation of Anthracite coal from the coal Region . As one of the county's larger boroughs, and with the establishment of Penn State Schuylkill campus near its southern boundary, Schuylkill Haven is a key community in Schuylkill County. Jacob Dreibelbis laid out the town in 1811 , but the founding of the town is dated at 1750 by Martin Dreibelbis. Construction of the Schuylkill Canal began in 1816 and ran through the center of town. Commercial trade on the canal was eventually replaced by the railroads. Another key industry was textile factories such as Argo Mills, which closed in the 1960s, due to foreign competition.