borough (town), seat of Wayne county, northeastern Pennsylvania, U.S., at the confluence of the Lackawaxen and Dyberry rivers, 24 miles (39 km) northeast of Scranton. Settled in the early 1800s, it was named for Philip Hone, who pioneered construction of the Delaware and Hudson Canal from Honesdale to Roundout (now Kingston, New York). From 1828 to 1898 as the western terminus of the canal, it was the major shipping point for coal carried from the Susquehanna River valley mines on a gravity railroad and loaded on barges for eastern markets.

In 1829 the “Stourbridge Lion,” the first locomotive in the United States to run on rails, was initially tested there but proved too heavy for the rails; a replica stands on Main Street (the original is in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.), next to the Wayne County Historical Society Museum. Located in a rich agricultural (dairy farming) area, Honesdale has light manufactures. Numerous recreational sites, including ski areas, are nearby. Inc. 1829. Pop. (1990) 4,972; (2000) 4,874.