BACKROADS • APRIL 2022
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WE’RE OUTTA HERE LEDGES HOTEL
120 FALLS AVE, HAWLEY, PA 18428 • 570-226-1337 • LEDGESHOTEL.COM Oh, oh…. Here comes the future. That was what many thought back in the early 1800s as machines and technology and innovation came to the forefront and what is known as the Industrial Revolution took hold. For you Luddites out there, the Industrial Revolution transformed economies that had been based on agriculture and handicrafts into economies based on large-scale industry, mechanized manufacturing, and the factory system. New machines, new power sources, and new ways of organizing work made existing industries more productive and efficient. What took hours now took minutes. What took a dozen men now took…umm – no one. It was a worldwide phenomenon, but in the United States, it was especially huge in the northeast. In the Pennsylvania town of Hawley industry took off in a big way. Glass seemed to be at the forefront here. Today we don’t think twice about glass – but for centuries it was a mystery. This is where our featured hotel comes in. According to the hotel’s history… In the 1890s, J.S. O’Connor American Rich Cut Glass Factory churned out thousands of exquisite pieces. In its heyday, it was one of the largest glass cutting factories in America. J.S. O’Connor was an Irish immigrant and Civil War veteran. After 23 years working as the head of the Dorflinger Glass Factory in nearby White Mills, O’Connor built his own factory on Wallenpaupack Creek with water from the creek powering the plant. For years the O’Connor Glass Factory was one of the
a weekend destination keeping you on the backroads largest employers in Wayne County. But time moves on and in 2011 Settlers Hospitality acquired the property and transformed the five-story Federal-style building into a boutique hotel and restaurant. Settled between the flourishing natural beauty of rock ledges and Paupack High Falls, in Hawley, PA, Ledges Hotel affords modern conveniences amid rustic charm. We had been to this hotel years back, but we visited it during our Indian Summer romp. Ledges could be a hovel and it would not matter – as the Paupack High Falls are extraordinary in every way. But Settlers Hospitality has made this into one of the finest hotels we have stayed in in a long time. When we were there the falls were running their natural flow – but if you are there when they open the dam it is truly amazing. Still, this evening we had a full Beaver moon in the middle of our starry dome with Jupiter keeping watch high above. The hotel has a wonderful and easy-going feel – even it is a bit of an upscale place. Around the property, and the spectacular Paupack High Falls, are a number of spots where you and yours can simply sit with a glass of wine and enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds the hotel, which fits in quite nicely with it all. Like it has been there from the beginning. The staff can make or break a lodging, and the folks at Ledges were very accommodating, putting up with my repeated historical queries. The hotel, located in the old glass factory, has 21 rooms. They could have twice as many, but they chose to make each room big, comfortable, and special in its own way. Our room that night
