9/8/18 Honesdale to Hawley/Wallempaupack with Matthew Davis, Jennifer Berndt, Jennifer Tull, Daniel Trump, Russ Nelson, Ewa Wdzieczak-Smering, San Westermann, Janet Lynn McCourt-Finsen, Brandan Jermyn, Ellie Zabeth, Timothy Kovich, and Diane Reider
This would be the next hike in our Delaware and Hudson series, and really the first one to cover the D&H Canal more than the railroad. It was an appropriate segue between the two.
Historic image of Honesdale and the Gravity Railroad
We had explored to a great degree the rail alignments coming into Honesdale. The 1827 Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad took a different course than the updated routes, which we’d explore a bit of.
Plane 13 on the D&H Gravity line
We had taken the loaded track route as best we could into Honesdale on the previous trip, and this next one would take us to Hawley. Matt proposed we finish at Lake Wallempaupack with some bonus miles at the end in case we didn’t do enough. We met in the morning outside of Hawley at the Shuman Point parking lot for the lake, then shuttled north.
Early 1827 D&H construction grade on the west of Honesdale
We found a spot on the west side of town near a medical facility where we could park, and along this route was some of the original grade to the earliest gravity railroad alignment.
Original D&H Gravity Railroad bed
It was cool that we’d get to start out by walking some of that oldest alignment, and the route that the Stourbridge Lion, first locomotive operated on track in the United States, used in August of 1829. It was made into a sort of trail for a short bit behind parking lots.
We started out hike by walking this to the east a bit. It would have crossed over the river at some point here. I watched the woods to the right across the river, because even the later alignment crossed and then re-crossed the Lackawaxen River in proximity to Honesdale.
Original D&H Gravity
We walked past buildings, and in the river to the right of us, I saw some rocks and such, and even a pile continuing into the edge of the the far side. I believe, based on what is shown on the Google Earth KMZ file, if it is accurate, that this was where the later D&H Gravity used to cross over the river one of the times.
Just ahead, there was a concrete culvert, which appears to be railroad related, but was probably associated with the Erie Railroad later on as some sort of a spur to some business.
Old D&H Gravity
We walked up past the culvert, then through a parking lot associated with the hospital I think it was. There is a covered foot bridge that leads across the Lackawaxen here to where we needed to go.
We headed through another lot and then past the Irving Cliff Brewery where we had eaten the previous trip. There are still rails in the pavement, and I’m told trains sometimes back up to that point for the excursion.
We followed Ridge Street up hill from this area to Gravity Street, which was the location of Plane #13, on the light track of the D&H Gravity Railroad added slightly later.
Plane 13
Between Commercial Street and Ridge Street appears to be where the loaded track of the gravity line came into town. We crossed over this and continued up Ridge Street to Gravity Street, which was on or right next to Plane #13 on the light track. We turned right to walk up Gravity Street and Prospect Ave and could see a spot between two homes, part of which is now a driveway, that would have been the plane. Content not to try to go too much further, we headed back down hill to Ridge Street to try to see remnants of the Union Plane.
The old 1829 right of way
We followed Ridge Street to Carroll Street, which is what we did the last time out, and last time we didn’t have anyone around and actually walked a portion of the remnant Union Plane, but this time someone was coming out of a driveway down there so I decided to forego this in favor of exploring something a little different beyond.
We continued on Carroll Street just a little bit more beyond the turn off for the plane, and there was a guy operating an earth mover off to the left. I told him what we were doing.
The 1829 right of way
I walked a little bit past where he was working, and then slid down hill through the woods to reach the right of way of the loaded gravity railroad track. This was at or near the end of the trackage. I started following it from here back to the west to see if I could find remnants of the Union Plane and Plane #13, which would have had to cross the loaded track.
I don’t have any photos of the Union Plane I don’t think, but we have some of Plane #13.
Ruins near Union Plane
There was obvious grading, and then I came upon a footing with four protrusions that could have been something to do with the Union Plane. Maybe an engine or cable hoist.
Likely old bridge site
Just beyond this point, we began finding some interesting cut masonry. Any of these could have been routes for the cables to run, or culverts for the light tracks to go beneath the loaded track. They were finely cut, and no mistaking them for anything that occurs naturally. We even found some spots with them stacked in place, which might have been foundations, but could have also been bridge abutments, where the bridge is now filled in.
Likely old bridge site
We moved on ahead and found even more masonry culvert remnants. The right of way for the loaded track was no longer as evident. The area was certainly disturbed to some great degree since being abandoned in 1899. There are also large waste piles that were along the right of way to the west, which probably continued after the gravity line was discontinued, so it might have been piled on top of it.
Another old bridge site
We got to a point that seemed to be the right location for Plane #13 where it would have passed beneath the loaded track. There were a couple of sets of abutments. The first ones I came across were too narrow for them to have been the tracks, but the second not only seemed right, it seemed to match what was shown on the KMZ files where it should be. There was so much more to explore up there. I found some artifacts, and an old metal car toy that’s been broken. There was also an accessible abandoned building below us.
We just didn’t have time for everything if we were going to head all the way to Hawley and beyond. Only some of us remained on that right of way to explore anyway.
Historic image of Plane 13
Matt led several of the others down and around to the bottom, to where the Delaware and Hudson Canal basin was. That site is now occupied by the railroad tracks that are used for the current Stourbridge Lion excursions.
We headed down hill and I double checked the images from the KMZ file to see if we were about where we should be for Plane #13. I think I had it just about dead on, so I got my then and now shots.
I tried several different ones, because I have several old photos that depict this particular site, but I knew I could’t make all of them work. Sometimes I get lucky, but this one was hard.
I didn’t initially see Matt coming down, so I gave him a ring. He had gone off with the others to see some other stuff in town. We decided to head to the main street in case anyone needed a store or restroom or something. In doing so, we saw the Honesdale Museum, which had an old canal snubbing post out front.
Plane 13 site today
I did want to go in to see the museum, but wasn’t sure if it would fit in with our timing, but everyone voted on going in to see it, and I was glad they were eager more in that direction.
We went in and paid, and then got to see up close the reproduction of the Stourbridge Lion, the first locomotive to operate in the Western Hemisphere, on August 8th 1829. The locomotive took it’s name from the town of Stourbridge in England, where it was manufactured and had a lion’s face painted on the front, by the firm of Foster, Rastrick, and Company. The locomotive was sent to New York in May of 1829.
Stourbridge Lion replica
There, it was tested on elevated tracks. It was then sent up to Honesdale in July to be tested on the recently completed Delaware and Hudson Gravity trackage. It ran between Honesdale and present day Seelyville where it reportedly couldn’t fit under a bridge.
Historic image of Plane 13 and D&H Canal
The original locomotive was deemed too heavy, and new innovations quickly made the pioneer engine an antique. It was somewhat scrapped, but the boiler was used.
Site of Plane 13 and D&H Canal today
A machine shop in Carbondale kept it in use until many years later new owners realized it’s value as an historic piece. Attempts to sell it failed, but it went on a national tour as a relic.
Stourbridge Lion replica
Security was no good, and people stole components that remained of the engine as souvenirs.
It eventually was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution and put on display at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad museum in Maryland.
In 1932, Delaware and Hudson created their own replica of the Stourbridge Lion, and this is the one that’s still on display in the museum, which occupies the old Delaware and Hudson office building.
There was everything in the museum from Native American items to canal and railroads. There was even a machine that was an early version of a banker’s tube. It was amazing to see so many components of so many diferent things.
We went through the entire museum, and Matt and the others joined us there to go through as well. We eventually made our way out and headed back to the canal behind us.
Plane and canal
One of the coolest things in the museum was the authentic old passenger car that actually ran on the D&H line. It’s got to be one of the oldest passenger cars in America. We got to go in.
Old D&H Passenger car
We followed the canal route west, and ended up having to turn back because there was no way through on the south side of it without climbing down a horribly steep stone wall.
There was a replica of a gravity railroad car on display just beyond this point.
Being silly
We headed down and across the other side to get into town.
We eventually headed away from the railroad tracks toward the Lackawaxen River. The canal crossed the river using slack water, somewhere between where there’s a factory on the right, and a CVS on the left. There doesn’t seem to be any remnants of this.
One of the things to remember with bot the D&H Canal and railroads, is that there were multiple incarnations of it. The railroad was rerouted so much it blows my mind, but the canal, which is a bit more of an undertaking, also was moved. Lock #37 in it’s last incarnation was just below the Honesdale Basin, but prior to that there was once a Lock 37 and 38, which were apparently right along the river and guard lock adjacent to 4th Street.
Honesdale History
We got to the other side of the river and turned to the right on Washington Street, then left on Pearl Street out to the parking lot for Dave’s Super Duper Super Market. We walked out behind it and continued parallel with the river. There would have been a guard lock in this area that would have allowed boats to leave the slack water section of the canal and enter the prism. A bridge over the river provided mule and pedestrian access for the towpath. We didn’t see any remnants.
D&H Canal, Honesdale
We walked by several businessnes through parking lots, and basically just continud parallel with Route 6, and eventually got to where Brown Street crossed the river to the right.
Historic Honesdale
We continued along the highway for a bit more and came to to Carley Brook, and just before that a yard sale. Of course, we had to stop and have a look around.
Honesdale
The creek had a lovely waterfall on it, on private land just up hill from us. Next to Rt 6, but on the northeast side of it, there was some sort of old stone work. I thought maybe it was an aqueduct remnant, but from what I’m reading, the canal remained on the other side of the highway, and is partially under it. Old Willow Avenue breaks off on the other side of the creek, and the older bridge that carried the road across the Carley Brook is now gone, but the abutments are there. I didn’t see anything that looked like it would be the canal.
Honesdale
We continued across the bridge and turned right on Old Willow Ave. We could have remained on the mostly obliterated canal down hill and through business yards, but I opted not to do this because it ended up in back yards a distance beyond.
Honesdale towpath bridge and dam with Lock 37
We simply followed the road, which was narrow and pleasant anyway. I don’t think anyone had any qualms about this after having to follow busy Route 6 before.
Towpath bridge in Honesdale at Lock 37
We eventually came to the intersection with Canal Street on the right, and turned here. We couldn’t see it at fist, but we immediately crossed the canal.
Lock 36
Everyone was walking and talking and having an enjoyable time, when I peered to the canal to the right. Right there, I spotted the remnants of Lock #36. This had been cleared years ago as an Eagle Scout project, but it’s now grown all up like crazy again. The lift of this lock was ten feet.
From this point, the canal continues on the left side of Canal Road, and we’d be right beside it for a while. It even had some water in it as we walked.
D&H Canal
The road was so narrow, it was a pleasure to walk. Narrower even than many of the actual trails we end up walking.
We stopped and chatted briefly with a guy working in his yard to the left. He was friendly and thought it was cool that we were tracing the canal. A lot of people are dead set against this.
From what the lady at the museum said, there was a plan to turn the entire canal into a trail in the area, and it was ready to happen, but just a couple of landowners rallied together and turned people against it.
Canal Road eventually returned to Old Willow Ave, and we crossed the canal route again to parallel it to the north. We followed it to the Route 6 Mall, which was built over the canal.
TACO BELL!
We decided to stop at Taco Bell for lunch, which I figured would be great, but this place must have been the worst service Taco Bell in the state. It took them over forty five minutes to make everyone’s orders. Everyone was getting pretty annoyed.
Janet and some of the others went to the nearby liquor store for drinks, and they wouldn’t let her get anything because she didn’t bring her ID. Then Jen or someone was going to get what she wanted for her, and they wouldn’t let her do it either.
I think it was Russ who saved the day and went to take care of business because they hadn’t seen him. I think Janet went back to gloat with the drink in front of the store before leaving!
Canal east of Rt 6 mall
I also went into the Salvation Army briefly but didn’t bother to get anything. I got myself a drink and we continud on.
Unfortunately, we missed the mark with this mini mall section. I thought that was the route, but in reading about it, we missed the existing remnants of Lock #35 and Holbert’s Brook Aqueduct. The canal actually crosses to the other side of Rt 6 and passes behind the businesses there. The lock is recognizable and apparently even the abutments of the aqueduct bare evidence of the trunk.
Lackawaxen River
Lock #35 was also known as Tom Witaker’s Lock. The lock tender’s house was reportedly still standing until the 1990s and then demolished, adjacent to the Rite Aid.
We did get back on the canal again when we got beyond Rt 6 mall. A great section with lovely masonry could be bushwhacked to, so I went and was followed by a couple of people. We then came out by an Exxon Station and had to walk along Rt 6 more.
There was an abandoned house ahead on the left, and the canal was obliterated to the right. When David Barber’s book was written, this section might have been more intact, but not any more. There is now a place called Rusty Palmer on it. We tried to walk around some businesses like an indoor shooting range, but didn’t really see anything.
Rusty Palmer
The Rusty Palmer place is weird because they have a log cabin built and sitting on the roof of the building.
We continued just past this to Indian Orchard Brook. This must be what is referred to in the books as Kimball’s Brook. The settlement in the area was known, as per maps, as Indian Orchard.
Just past the Rusty Palmer Place, where the brook went under the highway, I opted to begin bushwhacking to find some more of it. Although the guide said that much of the aqueduct was in place, it appears that the Rusty Palmer construction has destroyed it, and also rerouted the brook entirely.
D&H Canal
Just inside the woods, there was a remnant of an old dam and maybe a bridge. Not sure what it was for though. Matt and I checked it out a bit at first thinking that it might have been aqueduct remnants, but then I realized the canal was further on. I led the way through woods off trail toward the canal.
Unfortunately, in this messy section, I must have stirred up a yellow jacket’s nest, and many of the group got stung pretty bad. I think Dan Trump was the worst with about seven or so stings. Fortunately, no allergic reactions and we were okay.
Making friends
The canal wasn’t in clear condition really, but we were able to get through most of it. We were on the towpath at first, and had to occasionally come off and head to the prism. Eventually, we had to cut to the right as we neared Wayne County Ford. It was too much weeds.
We cut into the Indian Orchard Cemetery from behind, and just followed that out to the exit in order to continue on. Unfortunately, we had no choice again but to follow Route 6. There was a house just after the dealership we didn’t want to invade on. Just past that, there is the heavily posted land of D. R. Winters.
Intact canal
We would have to continue until we got to the entrance of a trailer park community to get back to the canal on Delaware Street to Canal Road.
In the section we missed “Lonesome Lock”, aptly named ten foot lift lock in the middle of nowhere, Lock #34, is reportedly in good shape, but on private posted land. Hopefully I’ll see it one day. We were able to look down on the site from Route 6, and it was like a tease to see perfectly clear towpath on a narrow section along the river for so long.
Dorflinger Glass works
We followed the trailer park road down hill for a bit, and made friends with some friendly cats along the way. Then, when we got to Canal Road, which was built on or next to the canal, we followed it to the east. We came to a house near the end at a corner where there was a lot of space between it and the next one over, and we used that to cut directly into the woods to try to trace the next section of canal. If anyone had been around we probably wouldn’t have tried it at all. The canal was not intact at first, but recognizable.
Lock House at #33
We walked some fields briefly past a road access site, and then I saw the towpath get completely clear. It was looking great. I bushwhacked shortly up onto it and we had a clear shot from here out to the community of White Mills.
As we approached the end of the clear towpath and reached a parking lot where the canal was filled in, I didn’t want to go on at first, but we decided we would just try to walk on out. It turned out that it was a barbecue for a fireman’s picnic going on.
While we’d like to have supported them more, we did have to move on after our long lunch.
Historic image at Dorflinger Glass
The community was once home to a Glass works know as Dorflinger Glass. We could see the old stone factory on the hill above us coming out. The area was named White Mill because early settlers who founded the town had a mill and out buildings all painted white.
There were some nice interpretive signs along the way, and an historic fire house.
From this point, we headed back to the canal by following Lock Street to the old Lock House and site of Lock #33. The Lock House is beautifully restored.
Historic image of Lock #33 and lock house
The ten foot lock is now pretty much filled in, as is the canal towpath leading up to it. We were told we could walk a section here, but it would have to be out and back.
The same view of the site today, with the lock house behind brush to left
We continued along the mowed towpath for a time. The canal prism was completely filled with Japanese Knotweed. When we got to the end of the trail section, I wanted to see if I could find a way through. There was a slightly beaten path down through a washed out cut.
Lock 33
I got down and across a tiny tributary, and back up to the other side onto a rather good section of canal towpath we would be able to continue on.
The towpath was in great shape and we had a good walk on a very pleasant section.
We continued on it until it started to get too overgrown. From that point, I could see via the aerial images that there was development coming up, and we didn’t want to be there anyway.
Delaware and Hudson Canal
I found out a pretty interesting thing about the section of canal up to White Mills: in the years following the abandonment of the canal, there was a public canal boat ride offered on the section, but the owners had trouble keeping water in the canal and out of the boat. The section was closed, and the boat was reportedly sold to Hugh Moore Park in Easton PA on the Lehigh Canal where it was renamed the Josiah White. This was the first canal boat I’d ever ridden on. It was taken out of service around 1985.
Towpath!
Sadly, that old boat, which was at one time intended to be rehabilitated, is now a ruin, rotted and stuck at the canal lock in the park. Apparently funds never came to fix the thing up, and it just fell into disrepair. Now it sits there as a hazard. There is no way to save what little remains of the boat.
Still, it’s a very interesting thing to hear that this boat that I’d known for my youngest days and had ridden on started out here.
The "Josiah White" as it appears today in Easton
We climbed back up to Route 6, and there was a road that went out along the canal. It was another tempting spot, because from there and for a while, we could see the towpath plain as day completely mowed and looking beautiful.
Redemption came as we watched the mowed section abruptly end in a hell of briars and thick weeds we’d not want to go through.
I watched the canal closely as we moved on, and when it soon paralleled a field, it started looking inviting again. I climbed carefully down and started to follow.
Towpath
It turned out to be a very nice section. The towpath was clear a lot of the time, and when it wasn’t, it was easy to walk in the canal bed itself.
The area got to be a bit more overgrown, but we continued on, and saw the first of the waste weirs we would come across.
Not much has changed since the survey done by David Barber. He commented that the walls were leaning in, but not yet collapsed. The same is true today.
Part of it is held up and together by a gas line that went across. I’d say it’s probably no longer in service because it’s not at all maintained, but still a cool site.
Waste weir
We started nearing more development, and climbed away from the towpath and prism up to where there was a nice old stone wall. We then got back on Route 6 heading east for a bit. The canal below was filled in and being mowed as a yard. I could see masonry walls from the road and some buildings. Lock #32 with another ten foot lift is partially filled in down in this area somewhere, but I couldn’t quite tell exactly where it was. There were a few buildings or houses out in the area, and one of them is the lock tender’s house, still lived in as a private residence.
Hawleywood!
A quarry company on the opposite side of the road calls itself “Hawleywood Hills”, and there is a sign looking like the famous Hollywood sign, reading “Hawleywood”.
We continued past here and where the canal veered away in a longer route away from the highway briefly, and then to where it was undeveloped. We could not see the canal yet, but after having luck the previous time, I decided I wanted to.
The canal
I was very happy I came down. The section was beautiful. I figured they’d be fast on Route 6 to get to the Lock House at Lock #31, now a public trail site. I tried to hurry through both because I wanted to keep ahead, but also because there might be some sketchy characters if I wasn’t careful.
There was a lot of amazing stone work on the berm side of the canal including an impressive abutment at a bridge site. Some of the walls were deteriorating and sinking down, which looked interesting.
Waste weir
I soon came across another old waste weir that was leaning as badly as the previous one, with the same kind of gas line pipe through it helping to brace it from collapse.
The towpath
The canal then came so close to the Lackawaxen River, I could not believe that flood waters had not completely destroyed it in the 119 years since it was abandoned. It was a beautiful section.
One sketchy spot, which was very visible, was where I came up along a sort of makeshift junk yard. There was crap being dumped down what might have been an old quarry hill with a garbage looking building at the top. I could hear engines going like crazy, but there was no evidence that ATVs were using the towpath, amazingly.
The irony...an abandoned boat....
Matt told me later he was worried because they saw the group while walking route 6 and wondered if I would have a run in with them. I hurried through that section quick and didn’t see anyone.
Garbage filled the canal bed from the sort of makeshift looking junk yard above for a bit, but then it continued clear and nice for a while. I made my way along until it was again more closely parallel with Route 6, and could hear voices. I called out and got a call back. Some of the group was on their way down to join me on the towpath.
Approaching Lock 31
By this time, we were approaching the sections used as trail anyway near Lock #31. That site had been purchased I think around 2001 and turned into an interpretive site. The lock tender’s house had been consistently lived in as a private residence, but Wayne County ended up purchasing this as part of the planned canal linear park.
I think just about everyone came down to the towpath at this point and we continued to where it was totally cleared on the way to the lock.
The site was managed pretty well and it looks like they have some good plans for the future.
Matt was familiar with this site from other visits and had mentioned it to me numerous times. He seemed prepared with answers to a lot of questions that came up.
I noted a spot in the canal prism that was not mowed, and Matt pointed out to have a better look at it, that it was in the shape of a canal boat, and the same size. They had staked off an area the exact size one of the boats would have been.
Lock 31
Note that it was the latter day boats on the canal; the canal was refit three different times, and the original could only carry fifty ton boats. Before abandonment, the canal was carrying about 140 ton boats.
Matt said they have other plans for the site as well, and I think he said something about building a scale thing like a boat.
The site looked really great, and even had the area cleared around the bypass flume.
Lock 31 before restoration, from Wayne Co Historical Society
We headed from here onto the nicely cleared towpath heading to the east. This was probably the nicest, best maintained section we saw on the entire hike.
Lock 31 now
The section even had little foot bridges and such. Unfortunately it didn’t take us as far as I’d have liked it to. Route 6 became Hudson Street and fronts of businesses were built on it.
D&H Canal
We walked across the parking lots after first getting our group shot where the trail comes out.
D&H Canal
We followed Rt 6 again for a bit, and we came to where we could get back over to the towpath again in another sort of trail section I wasn’t aware we would find, complete with a kiosk.
At Settlers Inn
I took the opportunity to go for a swim. It was still pretty hot out and I was looking forward to getting in for a while, especially after the section before Lock 31.
We had a nice break just before reaching Honesdale, and came out behind the Settler’s Inn. It seems to be a sort of bed and breakfast event venue. We checked out their gardens and a building in back that looked like an old railroad station style. We came out in front of the hotel type building built in 1927, and across is the ball fields that occupy the former Hawley Basin on the canal.
High Works of the Pennsylvania Coal Company Gravity Railroad in Hawley
The basin was also the eastern terminus of the Pennsylvania Coal Company Gravity Railroad, at the end of Plane #13 on it’s route. Like the Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad, it too had loaded and light tracks all the way back out to the Scranton area. We’d already begun a series to hike these as well, and we will likely re-do the first section with more added.
I think we concluded that the gravity railroad here would have joined the canal at about the point of the present day Sunoco Station.
We took Main Avenue down to cross the Lackawanna River, and on the other side was an authentic Pennsylvania Coal Company Gravity Railroad passenger car that had been restored.
Passengers were not the regular commodity of the railroad of course. The Pennsylvania Coal Company Gravity was built in the 1840s to haul coal. It was not as long lived as the Delaware and Hudson though.
PCCG car
The end of the line was originally called Paupack Eddy, but it was changed to Hawleyburgh after the first President of Pennsylvania Coal Company. It was then shortened to simply "Hawley" in the 1850s.
In 1885, the Erie Railroad construction it's Wyoming Division on a parallel route to the gravity line, and the gravity line was abandoned. Similarly, the Erie constructed the Jefferson Branch on the opposite side of the Lackawaxen from the canal all the way to Honesdale from Hawley, and the canal became obsolete.
We checked out the car and went in it, which was pretty cool. From there, we had to be more creative. We were done with the rail and canal stuff for the day mostly.
Trail over the tracks
We crossed the Main Avenue bridge over the Middle Creek, which was encased in concrete kind of like the LA River out west. We then went to the left on River Street to the end and turned left on a paved trail. The paved trail followed a flood retention berm around ball fields and along the river. A cop saw us go onto it, and then he appeared again at the ball fields to check out what we were doing. He never asked us anything.
Falls at the silk mill
We continued on the trail on the berm past a church, past an historic restaurant building, and out to Church Street. There we continued across on a more undeveloped looking bit. As the berm turned away from the river and the railroad, I saw a mile marker that read it was 125 miles from Jersey City!
We continued on the berm, and it went near houses. All of a sudden, we came to a sign reading that the trail didn’t go through.
Front of the Bellemont
Dan went to see if there was a way, but dogs started barking at him, so we cut quickly off and came out on the end of Paupack Street.
We turned left here, then left to Falls Ave to the former Hawley Silk Mills.
Inside the Bellemonte
The mill dates back to 1880, when it was built as the Bellemont by Dexter Lambert & Company. It operated until a fire struck in 1894 and apparently wrecked a lot of the infrastructure. The mill was rebuilt in the same place, and today the front of the structure still reads “Bellemonte” with 1880 on the epitaph, as well as 1894 for the rebuild.
We passed the little waterfall in back of the place, now the “Ledges” hotel area, and followed a road around the outside to the front. There are little stores inside, which are now all shut, but we had to take the opportunity to have a look inside this unique structure.
The Bellemonte Silk Mill
The mill was purchased by other owners over the years, and it remained in service as a textile mill right on through 1986.
The inside incorporates a lot of the unique industrial look, but with new stores in it that look pretty upscale. It’s among the more interesting little places I’ve been in the Poconos.
We continued out the front door along Rt 6 for a horribly pooey road walk. When we got to Wallempaupack Brewing Company, most of the group decided to stop. I took Russ’s keys, and Matt, Janet, Elizabeth, and I think Sandy and Diane came with me. Janet powered on through and got back first I’m pretty sure.
Lake Wallempaupack
We turned right from Rt 6 onto the Purdytown Turnpike, which follows the north side of Lake Wallempaupack.
I’d been wanting to connect to the lake for a long time, and I’d always imagined I’d get to it by way of Delaware State Forest and Promised Land. While I’m close at that end, now I’ve connected in a way I wasn’t expecting. We had a pretty good view of the reservoir at a sort of dam area off to the left. Unfortunately, there is no kind of perimeter trail or anything, and it was too late to do the Shuman’s Point Trail.
Construction of Wallempaupack Dam
Lake Wallenpaupack was built by Pennsylvania Power and Light between 1924 and 1929. The lake has over fifty miles of shore line, and is about thirteen miles long.
The settlement of Wilsonville was moved or demolished to make way for the lake, near the main dam.
Through the reservoir also passed the historic route of the Owego Turnpike, which was a major transportation route prior to the canals or railroads. It was, however formalized/chartered as a pay turnpike in 1831, and planks were added to it for easier riding a bit later.
Historic image of Wilsonville
We continued walking the road, which seemed to go on forever. This was the worst part of the day for me for sure!
We finally got back to the cars, and it was actually kind of a treat to drive Russ’s fancy new car.
We had some food at the Wallempaupack Brewing Company before heading out. The cars were safe where we left them since it wasn’t a park or anything.
We decided on the date of the next hike in the series by the end of the day, and plan to make the last Pennsylvania section of the canal in one shot, from Hawley to Lackawaxen. Everything beyond there might have to wait for warmer weather because it will put us along the Delaware at points that might require getting a bit wet. A lot of what we have coming up is pretty obscure, and I can’t wait to see it.
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