The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1874-01-29
To HEonesda.e and Raek.

a good thing, once and while to take trip
around among your neighbors, Acting on
this belief, we, on Tuesday of last week, /
slowed ourself in the Milford Stage, A. h. !
Crook, ESD proprietor, and under the care
of IA kind aud careful drive" were soon on
our winding way. The first half day of our
journey was the ride to Milford, which place
we reached atabout half past nine P. NJ and
were soon enSconced in comfortable quarters
at Cornelius Sawkill House, where 1t would
be altogether outrageous to look for anything
else than good treatment We were well
acquainted with this portion of our road, hay-
ing spent gOodly portion OF our boyhood
days along and upon 1t and yet, at times.
we almost doubted its identity. The eyi|
dences of thrift we saw from the moment Of
our starting until we landed in the centre of
Pike county's political cahoglng-thc i'm
proyements in farms aud farm buildings
the small hamets sprung into thriving villa
ges-and the signs on all sides that the
poverty Of nearly forty years ago had given
way to wealth and prosperity, all conspired to
make US believe" that we were travelling
through a country new to us. The hallucina-
ton would have been perfect had it not been
for the old land marks. which would every
now and then stare at US with all the assur-
ance Of old friends.
We would like to notice the thriving villa
ges of Bushkill ard Dingman's Ferry at
length but both time and space presses; and
we will have to leave them slide, with the as
surance that if they are growing in grace rs
they are in proportions and thrift, they will
neither of them meet the fate of Sodum Ell
ther spiritually or physically Milford, which
Is now enjoying ID muddle over her Court
| House, and the excitement attending the
labors Of her many aSpirants to try hand at
! Legislation, has made marked improvement
within the last few years. Her dlngy dog
Kennels Of houses, have in many instances
given way to fine and almost palat;al residen-
ces. The location of the town was always
first class-the situation being a neat plateau
some mile and half in length by three
quarters Of mile in width, at an elevation of
some forty feet above the Delaware, which
skirts its northeastern boundary. A few
years ago it began to attract city visitors ;
first singly and then in pairs, until now it has
become place Of summer resort second to
no mere inland town on the continent.
Many years ago, \. p. Willis rendered many
Of its grand and romantic surroundings mem
orable both in prose and verse, and the testi-
mony of all who visit it is unit as to its being
Il most delightful place To ourself who had
not visited it for some years the town brought
rejoicing for its thrift and gladness over It's
more than probable future, but sadness over
the memory Of its departed would creep in,
the DmmicIs, the Haggertys the Laforges,
of the older times, and the Samuels the
Dominic Smiths the Motifs, the Barnes
and the Cornelius Of these later days whom
we used TO greet upon its streets, but whose
bodies now lie nIouldering in their graves.
But we tarry too long
On Wednesday morning, after having been
excellently well cared for by mine host of the
j Sawkill, we again took the Stage in a
couple of hours, after very pleasant ride,
reached the village of Port Jervis, Orange
county, New York The shortness of oul
stay here prevented our giving more than q
passing look at this important station on the
n. Y. & Z. r. II. From what we saw
however, we are satisfied that week might
be proftably spent in looking into the great
e causes which conspire to make this a place
Fl Of more than ordinary prosperity At this
, point we took the cars. via Shohola, Lacka
: waxen &c. for Honesdale The making O
the road along the Delaware, all the way tt
( LackawaXen, was most gigantic undertak
e ing. At many points men had to be let dOWI
r in baskets and held with ropes until foo
: hold was blasted into the sides the precipi
tOus rocks for them to stand upon but th'
J result has been q road bed unsurpassed f0
: soldity. The ride along this section is mag
c nifcenty grand, though one grows a littl
. squeamish as, occasionally, Oh looking on
, of the car window you see no ground for tn
:. car to run upon; nothing but Occasional
J, fields, houses looking about the size Of hel
Il coops and the river shore hundred feet o
: more below you.
At Lackawaxen, where we were detainet
short time, we had an opportunity Of view
y ing the noble Acqueduct erected by the Del
y & Hudson Canal Company to carry thei
e boats across the Delaware river. The Acque
duct, which Is hung with gables Of wire, i
some 80 feet above high water mark and wa
built by the celebrated mechanical engineer
Roebling. 1t has capacity for boats Of Ia
0 tons burden and has been in use q number o
years. The town is very thrifty place, an'
Judging from what we saw must be plac
of deposit for the many blue stone quarrie
in the neighborhood, preparatory to thci
! we took the cars on the Jefferson Branch
I'll \. Y & +. r. r., and were soon steamin
past Rowland, (named after, and where re
sides, our friend George H., he OF the Sen
q ate, and Hawley, to HoDesdale which plac
/ We REACHED at about o clock, P. II.
e Honesdale the capitol Of Wayne county
e being our objective point, we felt a sort {
relief on reaching there to find that it wa
both in proportions and stir quite city.
Q is the terminus Of the Del. 4 Hudson Can;
= Co.'S. gravity railroad from Carbondale an
iS the head of their canal, and is the point fror
:, which, for a number Of years all It's coal wa
7e shipped to the sea board 1t is yet an in
M portant town for this reason, but it has i
is addition rapidly growing farming an
= manufacturing interest to give it still create
u Importance on its own account. The tow
y was began in 1929, and was named after I'll
e late Philip Hone, of New York, one of til
lie early officers of ''the Company" Washing
to ton Irving acting as godfather on the occ;
= sion of It's christening. 4 ledge of rocks
:, the east Of the centre Of the town was name
Id Irving Cliff, in honor of the distinguishe
" author, and he in turn, in remembrance of
lovely, romantic walk often enjoyed by hil
while in England, named the leaf embowere
road which skirts the eastern banks of I'll
e Lackawaxen and Dyberry rivers, and for
y II