Honesdale

Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale 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. It is home to the first commercial steam locomotive run on rails in the United States, the Stourbridge Lion. The main boiler of the locomotive is currently on loan at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. The Wayne County Historical Society Museum contains a full-scale replica of the Stoursbridge Lion using original blueprints for the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago. Passenger excursions run seasonally from Hones Dale to Hawley along the historic StourBridge Line. The railroad runs twenty-five miles along the Lackawaxen River. The waters contain fish and other aquatic life and attract hundreds of ducks, as well as eagles and other raptors. The town is located at 41°3427N 75°1521W (41.574214, -75.255966).According to the United states Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10 km²), of which 3.9 square miles. (10km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.26 km²) (2.5%) is water.

History

Honesdale is the primary city name, but also Bethany are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is Borough of Honesdale. Honesdale is home to the first commercial steam locomotive run on rails in the United States, the Stourbridge Lion. D&H transported anthracite coal from mines near Carbondale to New York City via Honesdale and Kingston, New York. Coal was moved by a unique gravity-railroad from the mines to Honeysdale where it was transferred to barges and transported via a 108-mile canal to Kingston, then shipped by river barges down the Hudson River to NYC. The Wayne County Historical Society Museum contains a full-scale replica of the Stoursbridge Lion using original blueprints for the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago. The replica was relocated to the Wayne County Visitors Center in 1941. The main boiler is currently on loan at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. The railroad runs twenty-five miles along the Lackawaxen River. Excursions depart from the platform at the Wayne county Visitors Center. The Honesdal Residential Historic District and the D&h Canal are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hones Dale was named for Philip Hone, former Mayor of New York and president of Honesale's Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Canal Company. Hone's was laid out as a village in 1826 when the D & H Canal was created. It was incorporated as a borough on January 28, 1831. Honingdale is known as the birthplace of the American Railroad.

Geography

Honesdale is located at 41°3427N 75°1521W (41.574214, -75.255966) The borough has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10 km²) of which 3.9 square miles is land. The Lackawaxen River, which flows through the heart of the town, and its confluence with Dyberry Creek, contains fish and other aquatic life. The waters contain hundreds of ducks, as well as eagles and other raptors. Honesdale has a population of 1,816. The borough is located in the New Jersey Bay Area. The town's population was 1,788 at the 2010 U.S. Census, and 1,917 at the 2012 U.N. Census. It is the only borough in New Jersey with a population over 1,000 in the state. It was the first borough in the United States to be named after a borough, in 1838. It has been named after the town's founder, William H. H. Jones, who was born in the town in 1837. It also has a post office, which opened in 1842. It closed in 1852. It reopened in 1853. It had a population in 1855, when it was named for H. J. Jones. It became a borough in 1876, when the town was named after H.J. Jones who was the founder of the borough's first post office.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,480 people, 2,086 households, and 1,147 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,148.7 people per square mile (443.5/km²). There were 2,357 housing units at an average density of 604.4 per squaremile (236.1/ km²) The racial makeup of the borough was 96.8% White, 0.9% African American, 0,1% Native American,0.4% Asian, 0, 6% from other races, and. 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8%. The median income for a household in the Borough was $32,644, and the medianincome for a family was $42,088. About 19.1% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.4 of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over. The borough is located on the New Jersey Turnpike, which connects to New Jersey and New Jersey via a tunnel system. The tunnel system was built in the early 1900s. It is the only tunnel system of its kind in the United States. It was completed in the late 1800s and was the first to cross the Delaware River and the Susquehannock River. It has a total length of 4.5 miles (7.5 km).

Media and publications

The local radio stations are WDNH 95.3 FM and WPSN 104.3FM, 101.9FM and 1590am. Highlights for Children, a monthly magazine for children ages 6 to 12, was founded in Honesdale in 1946. In 2018 Yoga International was recognized as the 122nd fastest growing private companies in the United States on Inc.'s 500|5000 list. The Wayne Independent was established in 1878 and is now The Tri-County Independent, its publisher having forced its merger with four former newspapers it owned. The local high school football team, the Hornets, plays on Friday nights at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 a.m., and has won several state and national championships. The high school is located on the Ohio Turnpike, which runs through the town of Wayne. The town has a population of about 2,000, with the majority of its residents living in or near the town center. It is the site of the Wayne County Fair, held annually in October and November, and also hosts the Ohio State Fair, which is held in June and July. The city's high school has a football team that competes in the Ohio Valley Football League. The Hornets are known as the "Honesdale Hornets" and have won numerous state and regional championships, including the state championship in football in 2008 and 2009. The school also has a baseball team that plays in the N.C. State League, which has won two state championships.

Education

Honesdale High School is a public, four-year, regional high school serving grades 9-12 in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. The district includes four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. In 2006, the district was recognized for excellence in teaching, and has a long tradition of requiring standards of its graduates well beyond state regulations. It is part of the Wayne Highlands School District, which also includes Stourbridge Primary Center and Lakeside Elementary School, and Wayne Highlands Middle School serve grades 6-8 in Honeysdale.

Healthcare

Wayne Memorial Hospital is a non-profit, community-controlled hospital based in Honesdale. The hospital is the heart of Wayne Memorial Health System, which serves 100,000 people across Wayne and Pike Counties. A $40 million dollar expansion of the hospital was completed in 2019. The 85,000 square foot tower houses 50 private patient rooms and technology designed to reduce the risk for infection, enhance communication and decrease noise levels. The clinical affiliate, Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers, operates primary care services around the county, dental services, womens health and behavioral health centers.

Places

Honesdale was home to the Roman Catholic St. Vincent's Elementary School, located on Cliff Street. The school closed at the end of the 2008-2009 school year after declining enrollment. Many summer camps are located in and around Honesdale, including Bryn Mawr Camp, Camp Cayuga, Camp Lavi, Camp Morasha, Camp Nesher, Camp Ramah in the Poconos and Camp Seneca Lake. Many campers travel from the New York Metropolitan Area, New England, Philadelphia and further afield to attend camps in the area. There are also several dance hall organs, Edison phonographs, and other music boxes from the 1800s. There is a private collection of classic cars mostly from the 1920s and 1930s. Many of the houses and structures in the town are architecturally as they were constructed, often more than a century past. The town is located on the banks of the Lackawaxen River and offers a compelling view of the confluence of the river and Dyberry Creek. The cliff is surmounted by Gibbons Memorial Park with a 50-foot electric framework for a Christmas Star and Easter Cross that are visible for miles during holiday nights. Fireworks are fired from the cliff for Independence Day festivities. The county's largest industry is the summer camp industry, which has been going on for decades and is the reason for many of the homes in the city's historic district being built in the first place. The city is home to a large number of summer camps, many of which are open to the public.

Arts and culture

The Wayne County Arts Alliance is a non-profit organization of volunteers interested in the benefits of arts in the county. Honesdale hosts the annual Wayne County Fair, starting on the first Friday in August and spans nine days. In 2019 the Cooperage Project held 350 events, including 65 musical and theater performances. The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy provides yoga, meditation, and spiritual programs. The organization was founded in 1971 by Swami Rama, and its world headquarters are located in HONESdale. The Institute also operates Yoga International magazine, which is published by the HimalayanInstitute of Yoga, and is based in India, Cameroon, Mexico, and the U.S. It also has a number of humanitarian projects underway in Cameroon, India, and Mexico. The Main Street Farmers' Market, run from the facility, allows farmers to sell directly to the community. The main stage is set up along Court Street playing to festival goers in Central Park. Artists and food vendors are lined along the park. Several other stages are set up throughout the town offering music all day. Several other bands play on the main stage in the park, as well as a variety of other acts. The Honesdal Roots and Rhythm Music and Arts Festival is held throughout Hones Dale on the third Saturday in June. The festival is held in the town's Central Park and runs through the end of the month. It is held to raise money for local charities. In addition, the festival also offers a chance to meet local politicians and other dignitaries.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Honesdale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania = 87. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 84. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 95. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Honesdale = 3.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 4,787 individuals with a median age of 39.5 age the population dropped by -5.52% in Honesdale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,148.38 residents per square mile of area (443.41/km²). There are average 2.14 people per household in the 2,105 households with an average household income of $33,124 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.00% of the available work force and has dropped -1.81% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 29.38%. The number of physicians in Honesdale per 100,000 population = 127.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Honesdale = 42.9 inches and the annual snowfall = 55.8 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 122. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 172. 82 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 13.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 52, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Honesdale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania which are owned by the occupant = 49.96%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 13.7 years with median home cost = $99,000 and home appreciation of -0.38%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $12.53 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $6,191 per student. There are 15.2 students for each teacher in the school, 644 students for each Librarian and 358 students for each Counselor. 5.41% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 10.76% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 6.42% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).