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  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Mission
    • Membership
    • Speakers
    • Contact
  • Exhibitions
    • Permanent Exhibits
    • Past Exhibits
    • New Exhibits 2021
  • History
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    • D & H Canal Park at Lock 31
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Delaware & Hudson Canal Co Office

Front of the MuseumPictured is the front of the former office of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Co., 810 Main Street, Honesdale, PA. The canal company built this brick building in 1860 after losing at least one prior office in Honesdale to fire. Strategically locating it near where the company’s gravity railroad and canal met, the employees inside could keep a close eye on the activities outside their back door.

In 1923, the Wayne County Historical Society was granted a lease from the Delaware and Hudson Co. to use the north half of the building for storage while the Hudson Coal Co. used the south half. The Society opened the museum to the public in 1939. The Department of the Interior designated the building as a National Historic Landmark in 1968, and the Society took over the entire building soon after. An addition to the west was built in 1979 and another to the south in 1993, which houses the replica of The Stourbridge Lion, the first locomotive to operate on commercial tracks in the United States.

torreybuilding.jpgIn 1997 a glass hallway was completed connecting the north side of the building to the Jason Torrey land office (at right), which had been moved to the site in 1981, saving it from demolition. An eighty-five thousand dollar multiyear exterior restoration of both buildings was completed in 1999.

Through these many building changes, the Wayne County Historical Society has tried to keep up with the public’s increasing interest in local history while preserving the original building's simple beauty.

 

Navigation
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Cut Glass Industry
For many years Wayne County was known nationally and internationally for its cut glass. In 1862…
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Delaware & Hudson Canal Co Office
Pictured on the front is the entrance of the former office of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co., 810…
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Gravity Railroad
The Gravity Railroad was suggested by engineer Benjamin Wright, engineer of the company, as a more…
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Irving Cliff
Irving's trip to Honesdale was described in a letter from Washington Irving to his sister in glowing…
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Jennie Brownscombe: Wayne County's Own
The National Museum of Women in the Arts has called Jennie Brownscombe "a kind of Norman Rockwell of…
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The Stourbridge Lion and the Birthplace of America's Commercial Railroad
In 1827 the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company began to investigate the use of the steam engine for…
News and Events
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WCHS NEPA Gives in the Spotlight
Jun 2, 2023, 6:00 AM
NEPA Gives is a generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform…
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Become a WCHS 2023 Sponsor
Jun 15, 2023, 6:00 AM
The WCHS is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your donations to the Society qualify as tax-deductible…
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Canal Boat Pavilion Grand Opening Dinner June 17, 2023
Jun 17, 2023, 6:00 AM
The event at D& H Canal Park at Lock 31 will be able to showcase the completed replica canal…
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Wayne County’s canal boat replica to be named after Clinton Leet
Aug 19, 2023, 10:00 AM
The Wayne County Historical Society is planning its 10th annual Canal Festival for August 19, 2023.…

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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Christ Episcopal Church at Indian Orchard
413 Fourteenth Street, Honesdale According to the 1872 Atlas of Wayne…
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Beach Lake Inn
Beach Lake The Folk Victorian building pictured is the Beach Lake Inn.

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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