| Borough of Honesdale | |
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The Wayne County courthouse
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| Motto: "Enjoy the Honesdale Experience" | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Wayne |
| Elevation | 1,148 ft (349.9 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 4.2 sq mi (10.9 km2) |
| - land | 4.1 sq mi (11 km2) |
| - water | 0.1 sq mi (0 km2), 2.38% |
| Population | 4,874 (2000) |
| Density | 1,182.9 / sq mi (456.7 / km2) |
| Founded | 1826 |
| Timezone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 18431 |
| Area code | 570 Exchanges: 251, 253 |
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Location of Honesdale in Pennsylvania
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Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
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Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States.[1] It is located 32 miles (51 km) northeast of Scranton. The population was 4,874 at the 2000 census.
Honesdale is located in a rural area that provides many recreational opportunities including: boating, fishing, hiking, hunting, skiing, biking, skateboarding, and rafting. Located in a coal mining region, during the 19th century it was the starting point of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which provided for transport of coal to Kingston, New York and then down the Hudson River to New York City. In the 19th century the expansion of railroads eventually superseded regular use of the canal.
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Honesdale, Pennsylvania, was named in honor of Philip Hone, who was a former Mayor of New York and president of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. Honesdale, which was originally known as Dyberry Forks, was laid out in 1826 and incorporated in 1831.
Honesdale is home of the first commercial steam locomotive to run on rails in the United States, the Stourbridge Lion. On August 8, 1829, the Stourbridge Lion started in Honesdale, ran three miles to Seelyville, and then returned.
The Stourbridge Lion was owned by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company (D&H). D&H transported anthracite coal from mines near Carbondale to the New York City market, via Honesdale and Kingston, New York. Coal was moved by rail from the mines to Honesdale, where it was transferred to barges and transported via a 108-mile canal to Kingston, from where it was shipped by river barges down the Hudson River to New York City. Before steam locomotives were used, D&H moved the coal from the mines to Honesdale via a gravity railroad.
The Wayne County Historical Society Museum contains a full-scale replica of the Stourbridge Lion, and displays many interesting photographs and artifacts. This museum is in a brick building on Main Street, once the D&H Canal's company office. Honesdale is where the Stourbridge Lion began its inaugural run. The Wayne County Chamber of Commerce hosts Rail Excursions and Historical Tours during spring, summer, fall, and Christmas seasons.
Parts of the original Stourbridge Lion are on display at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
Honesdale is located at (41.574214, -75.255966).[2]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km2), of which, 4.1 square miles (11 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (1.20%) is water.
In 1900, 2,864 people lived in Honesdale; in 1911, 2,945 people made it their home; and in 1940, 5,687 lived there. As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 4,874 people, 2,166 households, and 1,251 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,182.9 people per square mile (456.8/km²). There were 2,414 housing units at an average density of 585.8 per square mile (226.2/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.64% White, 0.66% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.89% of the population.
There were 2,166 households out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 65.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $28,201, and the median income for a family was $40,336. Males had a median income of $30,103 versus $22,061 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,404. About 9.8% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.
The local daily newspaper, The Wayne Independent, was established in 1878, and emphasizes local stories. The Wayne Independent publishes issues Tuesday through Saturday.
The local radio station is WDNH broadcast on 95.3FM. In addition to local news, events, and weather, it broadcasts the Honesdale Hornets High School football games every Friday night during football season.
The local hospital serving Honesdale and the surrounding communities is Wayne Memorial Hospital. It is a successful and progressive nonprofit community hospital of 114 beds and does approximately 75 million dollars of net revenue of business annually. The Hospital offers a wide array of advanced health services and is clinically affiliated with the Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers and The Commonwealth Medical College.
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