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Working With Wood: Then & Now

Beginning in 1851, Robert Lovelass started making the organ entirely by hand with the exception of the keyboard, twenty-eight lead pipes, and a few turned pieces in the case. The lumber was obtained from cherry trees which grew on the Lovelass farm in Calkins. PA., logs cut in a nearby sawmill, and planed by hand. It took Mr. Lovelass two years to complete his labor of love.

There are one hundred and four wooden pipes which range in size form ½” square by 7” high to 4 ½” square by 48” high, twenty-two lead pipes, and twenty-one ornamental wooden pipes which are painted with gold leaf. The organ was operated by bellows, with the player using their feet.

Robert Lovelass was born in England in 1814, came to Philadelphia with his father in 1833, and moved to what is now know as Calkins, Wayne County where they established a farm in 1835. He was a cabinet maker by trade, and musician.

Also included in this exhibit are several pieces of furniture made by Alanson Blood (1806 – 1885) a Honesdale cabinet maker and hand carved eagles and more made by former Honesdale Mayor and restaurant owner Richard Kreitner.

The exhibit hung through 2006 in the Torrey Gallery.

Wood

Wood

Wood

 

 

 

 

 

Past Exhibits
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A Walk Through Historic Wayne County
A Walk through Wayne County
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Artistic Expression Then and Now Gallery
Artistic Expression Then and Now Gallery
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Boy Scout Troop 1 Honesdale
Boy Scout Troop 1 Honesdale
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Exhibits 2023-2024
2023 New Exhibits at the Wayne County Historical Society
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Here Comes the Bride
Here Comes the Bride is an exhibit of eleven wedding gowns and related items dating from the 1850’s…
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Making Music Way Back When
Making Music Way Back When
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Mapping Honesdale
Thirteen maps of Honesdale, Pennsylvania dating from 1776
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Stitches in Time
Stitches in Time
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The Artistic Vision of Howard Becker
The Artistic Vision of Howard Becker
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The History of Firefighting in Wayne County
The History of Firefighting in Wayne County
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The History of Wayne County's Independent Pharmacies
The History of Wayne County's Independent Pharmacies
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The Wayne County Experience
The Wayne County Experience
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The World War II Collection of Edgar Robert Pohle
Edgar Pohle, the son of a well-known Honesdale merchant, was born on his mother's birthday, May 7,…
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Weston Stoneware
Weston Stoneware is a small temporary but interesting exhibit containing nineteen beautiful pieces…
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Working With Wood: Then & Now
Beginning in 1851, Robert Lovelass started making the organ entirely by hand with the exception of…
Permanent Exhibits
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Children's History Lab
The History Lab is a fun and informative way for families to learn about Wayne county History. Kids…
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Faces in Clay
The Faces in Clay exhibit originally opened in 1995 in the lower level of the 810 Main Street,…
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Movin' Energy
Movin' Energy: The History of the Delaware and Hudson Canal 1828-1898 exhibit is housed in the 1993…
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The Stourbridge Lion
In 1827 the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company began to investigate the use of the steam engine for…
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Wayne County's Glass
The society's entire glass collection is again on exhibit after five years in storage and pieces on…
News and Events
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Three-Saturday Beginner Genealogy Workshop
Mar 14, 2026, 9:00 AM
Unlock Your Family History: Join Our Beginner Genealogy Workshop!
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Wayne County Historical Society Museum Winter Hours Announcement
May 1, 2026, 11:59 PM
2026 Seasonal Hours and Spring Open House at the Main Museum
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Annual Spring Open House
May 2, 2026, 11:59 PM
Step into history and fun at the Wayne County Historical Society's Spring Open House—an…

About us   

Welcome to the Wayne County Historical Society, home of the full-size replica of the Stourbridge Lion, the first locomotive to run on commercial track in the United States.

Our main museum and museum shop are housed in a building built in 1860 as headquarters of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company....click here for more information.

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News and Events

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Calendar
Calendar of Events at Wayne County Historical Society
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News
News the Wayne County Historical Society

Historic Sites

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Barn at Tyler Hill Farm Country Inn
Tyler Hill Dick and Carol Barrett. owners of the Tyler Hill Farm Country…
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Edmund Hardenbergh House
307 Fourteenth Street, Honesdale The 1872 Wayne County maps show this…

Research Library

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Genealogy in Wayne County
Genealogical records WCHS Research Library at 810 Main Street, Honesdale…
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Historic Topics
Research materials at the WCHS Research Library, your best source for the…

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