Honesdale, Pennsylvania

Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania. The borough's population was 4,480 at the time of the 2010 United States Census.

Honesdale is located 32 miles (51 km) northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recreational opportunities, such as boating, fishing, hiking, hunting, skiing, biking, skateboarding, and rafting. Located in a coal mining region, during the nineteenth century it was the starting point of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which provided for transport of coal to Kingston, New York, and then down the Hudson River to New York City. In the 19th century the expansion of railroads eventually superseded regular use of the canal.

History

Honesdale was named for Philip Hone, former Mayor of New York and president of Honesdale's Delaware and Hudson (D & H) Canal Company. Honesdale, originally called "Dyberry Forks," was laid out as a village in 1826 when the D & H Canal was created. It was incorporated as a borough on January 28, 1831.

High school

A high school (also secondary school, senior school, secondary college) is a school that provides adolescents with part or all of their secondary education. It may come after primary school or middle school and be followed by higher education or vocational training.

Terminology

The term "high school" originated in Scotland, with the world's oldest high school being Edinburgh's Royal High School from 1505. The Royal High School was used as a model for the first public high school in the United States, Boston Latin School founded in Boston, Massachusetts.

The precise stage of schooling provided by a high school differs from country to country, and may vary within the same jurisdiction. In all of New Zealand and Malaysia, along with most of Britain and parts of Australia, Bangladesh and Canada, high school means the same thing as secondary school, but instead of starting in 9th grade, these "secondary schools" begin at ages 11 or 12.

Country by country

Australia

In Australia, high school is a secondary school, from Year 7 or Year 8 through to Year 12, varying from state to state. High school immediately follows primary (elementary) school; therefore, a Year-7 Australian high-school student is sometimes as young as 12. In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, the term "high school" generally refers to Years 7–10, whereas the term "College" is used for Years 11–12. In Victoria the term "secondary college" has largely replaced the term "high school" following the reforms of the Labor Government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some schools have retained the name "high school" (such as Melbourne High School) and many have now dropped the "secondary" and are simply known as "college".

Honesdale High School

Honesdale High School is a public, four-year, regional high school serving grades 9-12 in Honesdale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States, as a part of the Wayne Highlands School District. In 2010, the School reported an enrollment of 978 pupils in grades 9th through 12th, with 333 pupils eligible for a federal free or reduced-price lunch due to the family meeting the federal poverty level. The school employed 67 teachers, yielding a student–teacher ratio of 14:1. According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 100% of its teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under No Child Left Behind.

In 1813 the Honesdale Academy which was a private preparatory school and the forerunner of the Honesdale High School, was founded. In 1875, the first class was graduated from a public high school in Honesdale. Honesdale’s first modern building constructed for school purposes was opened in 1909. In 1924, the consolidation of six political subdivisions formed the first union school district in Pennsylvania. On April 6, 1959 the present high school building was constructed. In 1970, under the School District Reorganization Act, the district was again expanded. The new name became the Wayne Highlands School District.

Stourbridge Lion

The Stourbridge Lion was a railroad steam locomotive. It was the first to be operated in the United States, and one of the first locomotives to operate outside Britain. It takes its name from the lion's face painted on the front, and Stourbridge in England, where it was manufactured in 1828.

History

One of the first railroads in the United States, the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company (D&H), was originally chartered in 1823 to build and operate canals between New York City and the coal fields around Carbondale, Pennsylvania. While the line was originally planned as a canal for the entire route, company engineers began thinking about rail transportation as early as 1825; the initial plan was to build a railroad between the mines and the western end of the canal as a way to get the coal to the canal boats.

John B. Jervis, who later became the designer of the 4-2-0 (the Jervis type) locomotive, was named the D&H's chief engineer in 1827. Jervis planned out a series of inclines connected by level, but themselves disconnected, railroads. The company directors liked Jervis's plan and authorized its construction with some hesitation for the as-yet unproven railroad technology.