Honesdale, Pennsylvania

The first county courthouse was in Bethany, the county seat from 1800 to 1841. During the legislative sessions of 1840-41, Senator Ebenezer Kingsbury quietly secured the passage of an act for removal. Honesdale became the county seat and on May 4, 1841 the county commissioners accepted a plot of land opposite the public square for the county buildings. The land was a joint gift of the Jason Torrey estate and the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company.

After many years of discussion of the need for a new building, the commissioners adopted a resolution to begin construction in 1876. J.A. Wood of New York was selected as architect and the massive stone walls of the foundation were begun. During the next two years, little progress was made on the structure as “The Courthouse Wars” raged. Taxpayers were angry, legal disputes abounded  and political disputes flared. Finally the commissioners resolved to complete the building and $130,000 later, the new Italianate courthouse was ready in 1880.