In 1806, Abington Township was formed by the court of Luzerne County; it was previously been part of Tunkhannock Township which encompassed areas such as: Clarks Green, Clarks Summit, Scott, Glenburn, La Plume, Waverly, Benton, Greenfield, and parts of Carbondale. Throughout areas of dense forest and wilderness,  there were a few scattered settlements; for the most part however, this area remained largely uninhabited until around 1820. Waverly, in particular was initially known as Abington Center and did not have many residents during its early years until the construction of the Philadelphia Great Bend Turnpike (now Route 407). After the creation of this road, more and more settlers arrived in the area and eventually it became a small village with many stores, roads, and residents; most of the townspeople came from the New England states of Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island. Eventually, Waverly was established as a borough in Pennsylvania in 1853; the name derived from the Waverley Novels, written by Sir Walter Scott.

Waverly’s Earliest Residents

John Flanagan: Flanagan was a Scotch-Irish man from Plymouth, PA who built the very first house on the Philadelphia Great Bend Turnpike. He initially came to the area to work with coal.

Dr. William Nicholls: Nicholls built Waverly’s second home on the Philadelphia Great Bend Turnpike; he came to Waverly from Oxford, New York to practice medicine. He died two years later at the age of 28.

George Parker: George Parker built Waverly’s third property along the Philadelphia Great Bend Turnpike in 1828. His property later became the Wayside Inn, an Inn dedicated to providing guests with lodging, food, and a location to change horses. Parker arrived in the area from Rhode Island and fought in the War of 1812. The Wayside Inn was modeled heavily from New England architecture.

Dr. Andrew Bedford: After Dr. Nicholls passed away, Dr. Andrew Bedford arrived in Waverly one year later. Bedford graduated from Yale University and previously resided in Dundaff, PA. Dr. Bedford became the primary physician in the Abingtons. His home, built in 1828 still stands on North Abington Road today and is one of the region’s oldest residences.

As Waverly grew, many businesses were created by those who settled in the area; general stores, taverns, and blacksmith shops soon materialized. With the creation of the Waverly Community House in 1919,the area saw its first recreational facility emerge; those who live in the area can still see the beloved Comm grow and develop new programs every year.

This past week, the WCH Archives was featured as the NEPA Blog of the Week; NEPA Blogs is a website that specializes in providing links to blogs and and other sites about Northeastern Pennsylvania.