WAYNE COUNTY COURT HOUSE …

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Finally finished in 1880 after years of public wrangling known as the “Court House 

Organized prior to 1834, but there are no records previous to that date. The first Methodist Church was built at the head of Chapel Street in Honesdale in 1834, (now an apartment house). The old site has  an interesting cemetery in the rear 

divided in heated debate over the expenditure needed to complete it. The annex was completed in 1976.

which is in fair condition. Two Revolutionary War veterans are buried there and many of the first settlers of Honesdale are interred there. The present church structure was built in 1872 at a cost of $50,000.

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A monument to the stonemason’s art, the old stone jail lives to remind us of the deterrent a ”jailhouse” used to be. This jail, built in 

Honesdale’s Baptist Church congregation beginnings date back to 1833.Early meetings were held in Bethany and the “Tabernacle” at

1859 was in continuous use until 1936. Unfortunately, the iron doors were given up for scrap during the patriotic fervor of World War II, but the unusual stonework is still intact. The front two cells were for trustees, separated from the others by an iron grate in the hall.
The alumni who remember the jail when it was in operation tell of the dampness and bitter cold of the winter months. A pot-bellied stove in the hall served for the only heat in the building. Prisoners were known to have built fires in their cells to keep warm. Meals were furnished by the sheriff and brought over from his house next door. Comfort, such as it was, consisted of an iron bunk, a chair, and sometimes a small table. Toilets were added later to each cell, but central heat never became a reality.

The present church building was dedicated in 1845. This elegant structure is the oldest church building in Honesdale.

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The Presbyterians were the pioneer church organizers of Honesdale. Nine members started the church in a log cabin structure called the “Tabernacle” on the banks of 

Erected 100 years after the date of the running of the locomotive on August 29, 1929 by the citizens of 

 Honesdale.The stone snubbing posts on either side were used to tie up canal boats on the D & H canal.

the Lackawaxan and Dyberry Rivers at the foot of 12th Street on Feb 11, 1829.Maurice Wartz, the originator of the D & H Canal Co., joined the church at the next communion. The present building was built in 1869 and the chapel and manse followed soon afterward. Another wooden structure was destroyed by fire and replaced by the present brick building.