HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HONEY BROOK
In 1815, the village of Waynesburg was formed after a
schoolmaster by the name of Stinson purchased a lot or common byway of
speculation. He had the lot
surveyed into town lots and made a lottery.
Those holding lots along Horseshoe Pike took possession and promptly paid
for their tickets. The back lots
took a longer time to sell.
One of the largest problems for the development of the
village was water. The village lies
on a ridge between the headwaters of the east and west branches of the
Brandywine Creek. Wells had to be
put down at considerable expense.
The year 1884 saw a change to the village.
The railroad from Philadelphia-Downingtown-Lancaster was completed and
ran along the south side of Horseshoe Pike.
The railroad caused a problem for the village.
There was another Waynesburg in western Pennsylvania.
The freight was being routed to the wrong stations.
Hence, the name was changed from Waynesburg to Honey Brook.
This name is from the word Nantmeal which means “sweet stream.”
As the town grew, a petition was circulated in 1891 for the
town to be incorporated into a borough. Almost
every homeowner signed. With
the incorporation into a borough, the main problems to overcome were: street
lighting, sidewalks, and several years later water.
The Borough accepted public water in September 1896.
At that time, it was a gravity water system requiring little work.
Electric streetlights were installed after much discussion in 1915.
Before that, gas lamps were used to light the streets.
Over the years, boardwalks were replaced by bricks, then
concrete. There are still two brick
sidewalks in the Borough. Horseshoe
Pike, formerly Main Street, has the only fully paved sidewalks in the Borough.
When the Borough was incorporated, the census was around
700. Today in 2000, the census has
doubled.
The oldest organization in Honey Brook Borough is the United Methodist Church. You can read more area history at our local library.