Wayne county ,* was erected from a part of Northampton, by an act of assembly, 21st March, 1798, and was therein described as all that part of Northampton co., lying to the northward of a line to be drawn, and beginning at the west end of George Michael's farm on the river Delaware, in Middle Smithfield township, and from thence a straight line to the mouth of Trout creek on the Lehigh, adjoining Luzerne co. But the creation of Pike county, in 1814, has changed this line, and Wayne county is now bounded on the north by the state line between Pennsylvania and New York, in lat. 42º north, extending along this line 6 miles, north eastwardly by the western shore of the Delaware r., which separates it from New York, to the Bigg Eddy, a distance of 30 miles in a direct line, but of 45 by the meanderings of the r.; south east and south by Pike co., and west by Luzerne and Susquehannah counties. The area is 436,429 acres. Central lat. 41º 40' N., long. from W.C. 1º 42' E. Pop. principally German, was in 1830, 7,663, of whom 4,083 were white males; 3,549 white females; 15 colored males; 16 colored females, all free; 1 person blind and three deaf and dumb. In 1800 the population was 2,562; in 1810, 4,125, and in 1820, 4,127. Pike co. was taken from Wayne in 1814.
The surface of this county is very unequal, comprizing much of the variety pertaining to mountainous regions. Its principal features are a continuous upland which occupies the largest portion, indented by long narrow valleys, and a few lofty eminences, to which only the name of mountains should be applied. The general elevation of this table land is estimated at thirteen hundred feet above the level of tide water.
Moosic mountain rises above the upland about 600 feet, having a total elevation of 1910 feet above the tide. Its southern extremity is in Luzerne co. whence it extends in a direction east of north, crossing the west line of Wayne co, in Canaan t-ship, and subsiding in Mount Pleasant, forming for some distance a barrier between this and the adjacent counties on the west. Beyond the northern extremity of the Moosic rises Mount Ararat, which reaches a short distance into Preston t-ship, and is about as high as the former. The summits of these mountains overlook the country, the former to the east, the latter to the west, as far as the eye can reach. Still further north, and between the head waters of the Lackawanna creek is the Sugar Loaf mountain, comparitively a small eminence. Besides these, are some hills of minor note, a few only of which are designated by particular names.
The highlands are much broken by the ramifications of the valleys and the subsidence of their bases. These inequalities, however, offer no insuperable obstacles to cultivation, the slopes being, commonly, gentle.
The valleys are the peculiar drains of the country; each having its proper channel, into whihc the springs and rivulets flow. Lakes are formed in every t-ship, except Sterling. These elegant little sheets of water, clear as crystal, comprise from 50 to 300 acres, and contribute much to the beauty of the landscapes. Their outlets form some of the capital streams of the co. At first, the course of the waters is generally rapid, and this circumstance with the favorable slopes of the banks, affords innumerable situations for mills.
From the northern part of the county the Susquehannah receives a portion of her waters by Starucca and Lackawanna creeks, which have their sources within a few rods of each other, in Preston t-ship, but taking opposite directions, they discharge themselves into the Susquehannah, upwards of a hundred miles apart. THe heads of the Great Equinunk, which flows into the Delaware on the north eastern side of the county, and of the west branch of Lackawaxen, running southward, are also in the same vicinity. In wet seasons, the most proximate of these heads unite, and thus form a complete inosculation of the Delaware and Susquehannah waters. The Moosic mountain, rising like a wall along a great part of the western line of the county, determines the waters
(*for much of this article, we are indebted to an able sketch of this county by Jacob S Davis, Esq)