Bus trip to visit telegraph birthplace, living historical farm

Wayne County, PA — The Wayne County Historical Society (WCHS) will sponsor a bus trip to Historic Speedwell and Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, located in Morris County, NJ on Sunday, June 10. The bus will leave the Route 6 Plaza in Honesdale at 8:00 a.m. and return to the plaza around 6:00 p.m. The deadline for reservations is June 1.

The day will begin with a guided tour of Speedwell, the “Birthplace of the Telegraph,” and a National Historic Landmark Site. This restored homestead was the estate of Stephen Vail, proprietor of the Speedwell Iron Works in the early to mid-19th century. The tour includes the factory where Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail (Stephen’s son) worked to perfect the telegraph, which was first publicly demonstrated on this site on January 11, 1838. Exhibits in the Homestead Carriage House chronicle Speedwell Iron Works and New Jersey’s role in the Industrial Revolution. A tour of the Vail House, restored to the 1840 period, and a stop at the Museum Store will round out the morning’s activities.

The next stop will be Fosterfields Living Historical Farm for a box lunch, included in the price of the trip. Lunch will be followed by a guided tour of a farm once owned by Charles Foster and his daughter Caroline. At the restored farmhouse visitors experience the role the farm foreman and his family played. Fosterfields Living Historical Farm is on the State and National Register of Historic Places.

The price for the trip (including lunch) is $60 for WCHS members and $65 for non-members.

For more information email wchspa@ptd.net or call 570/253-3240.