921 Court Street. Honesdale This is the oldest continuously used law office in Wayne County. Atty. George G. Waller was the first to practice law here. It has been the law office for three Wayne County judges: Alonzo T. Searle, Clarence E. Bodie, and James Rutherford. Today it is the Rutherford Law Office, occupied by Atty. Albert G. Rutherford,II: Sally N. Rutherford (Albert's wife): and Sherry K. Rutherford (their daughter). It was also the law office of U.S. Congressman. Albert G. Rutherford. grandfather of Atty. Albert G. Rutherford, II. Atty. George G. Waller owned this brick building as well as the house located in front on Court Street. According to tax records, he had this law office building erected in 1887. Atty. Waller died in 1888, and left his estate to his widow. In 1889 she sold both properties to Clarence Foster. M.D. After Dr. Foster's death. his widow sold the buildings to Harry B. Ely, M.D., who, in 1904, sold the law office building to Atty. Alonzo T. Searle. (Searle and Waller had been law partners.) Atty. Clarence E. Bodie became the owner in 1937: Attys. Albert G. and Sally N. Rutherford acquired the building in 1975. The original brick structure was one story high with a flat roof and an entrance on the side facing the Court House. Judge Searle added the gambrel-roofed second story during the 1930s. At that time he purchased a small strip of land on the east side of the building from Ada Dorflinger in order to accommodate an outside staircase. which provided access to the second floor. Not only is this an historic building but also all the attorneys who have practiced law here are names that are well remembered in Wayne County's history. Atty. Sherry K. Rutherford was the third generation of the Rutherford family to practice law in this building.

Text by Marge Hook and Sally Eno Soden

Line Drawing by William Amptman

From 1993 through 2008 the Honesdale National Bank published an annual wall calendar, each featured 13 historic sites. The sites were chosen and researched by a committee of the historical society and artwork was commissioned to Judy Hunt and William Amptman by the bank.

This page was one month of the calendar and was made possible through the Wayne County Commissioners and a Tourism Promotion Committee’s Tourism Grant.