Wayne historical society expands

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA - The Wayne County Historical Society is making history as they embark on the largest financial project that they have ever attempted.

The historical society will spend over $750,000 to build a structure at the rear of its building on Main Street to house its collection of perishable books, records, Native American artifacts and other vulnerable antiquities. The building will also house two or three galleries.

The extension structure will possess a state-of-the-art climate control system that will preserve the collection that is now housed in a section of the building that has no climate control.

“We need storage badly and this will help us tremendously,” said Sally Talaga, executive director of the society. “Most historical papers, photos and textiles are very fragile and need to be protected from mold and dampness,” she said.

The new structure, which will have a partial basement, a main floor and a partial second floor, will help the society, which was formed on May 26, 1917 and incorporated in 1922, fulfill its mission of maintaining a research library, a museum of relics, books, maps, paintings and other items of historical significance.

The expansion will double the present building’s square footage. However, not all of the new extension will be open to the public, Talaga said.

The construction will be completed by April 2007.

Because the site of the construction is directly over a segment of the old Delaware & Hudson Canal, it was necessary to conduct an archeological investigation for artifacts. Several huge 12-by-12 inch beams that supported the canal deck were discovered, as well as pottery, a clay pipe and a single shoe.

The present building on Main Street once housed the headquarters of the canal company, which began the construction of the canal in 1829.

“When we started to raise funding for this project in 2000, it was to have cost $500,000,” said Harry “Skip” Hillier, society board of trustees president. “With the rapid rise in the cost of building supplies, the cost has gone up another $250,000.”

Through fundraising events, individual contributions from businesses, from individuals and grants, the group has already collected $500,000. The Dime Bank, the Honesdale National Bank and the Wayne Bankall contributed $20,000 each. The Harleyville Bank donated $10,000. Foundations that contributed to the building were the Wayne Community Foundation, the David Katz Foundation and the Villaume Foundation.

“We will raffle off a new Dodge automobile to help us raise the rest,” Hillier said.

The tickets, which are now on sale, will cost $50 each. “We’re only going to sell 1,000 tickets, so the odds at winning the car are very good,” he said.

“Because the county already has a library, we can’t receive funds from the state that are aimed at projects like this,” Talaga said. “They won’t fund two libraries in a county, although we are not strictly a library.”

“This new project is our greatest challenge, and the society sincerely hopes residents will join us in making this dream come true,” Hillier said.

The society can be reached by emailing wchs@ptd.net or by calling 570/253-3240.