Page Contents for Hawley, Pennsylvania

Statistics & Facts

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Historical Events

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Statistics & Facts

The Pennsylvania state capital is Harrisburg.
The population of Hawley is approximately 1,244 (1990), 1211 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 644 (1990), 549 (2010).
The amount of land area in Hawley is 1.584 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0.062 sq kilometers.
The distance from Hawley to Washington DC is 203 miles.
The distance to the Pennsylvania state capital is 122 miles. (as the crow flies)
Hawley is positioned 41.47 degrees north of the equator and 75.17 degrees west of the prime meridian.

History & History Related Items

"Sitting at the northern tip of Lake Wallenpaupack, Hawley has seen several name changes over the years. The settlement that grew into present-day Hawley was formed at an eddy (a little whirlpool) near where the Lackawaxen and Wallenpaupack Rivers converged. By 1792 the area became known as "The Eddy;" by 1829, Paupack Eddy; and by 1848, Falls Port. A year later came the name Hawleysburgh, named for Irad Hawley, first president of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, which figured prominently in the development of the Hawley-Honesdale area. By 1851 the "burgh" was dropped, giving us the name we know today. "
(from Name Origins of Northeast PA Towns by Mike O'Hara)

Footsteps of History home page
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Attractions

See Aerial Photos of the area.
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Hawley Historical Events

1864, July 15
Shohola, Pennsylvania
3.p.m. Troop train carrying 833 Confederate POWs over the Erie Railroad to Elmira, NY collides head on with a coal train 1 mile west of the town. About 51 prisoners and 17 guards dead, 100 injured, plus 4 train crew dead. Worst train disaster of the Civil War. The coal train came from Hawley to enter the main line where the collision occurred. There were claims that the dispatcher responsible for the collision spent the night before drinking and dancing in Hawley and came to work drunk. This fact about the dispatcher is not completely confirmed.