Samuel Meredith, first treasurer of the United States under the Constitution, served in that office from 1789 to 1801. Meredith, his brother-in-law, George Clymer, and other Philadelphia speculators purchased many large tracts of land in Pennsylvania, including 26,000 acres in the Pleasant Mount area. The tract extended from west of Waymart to Hine’s Corners (Orson) in Preston Township. In 1796, while still treasurer, he began making improvements on the land and settled there in 1803. The Meredith mansion, named Belmont Manor after his Philadelphia property, was built in 1812 and cost $6,000—a very large sum for the time—and was destroyed by fire in the late 1870s. He died in 1817 and was buried on the property, but the bodies of Meredith and his wife were moved in 1904 to Pleasant Mount and marked by a large monument at the intersection of the Bethany Turnpike (Route 670) and the Cochecton-Great Bend Turnpike (Route 371).

From the collection of the Wayne County Historical Society, 810 Main St., Honesdale, PA. The museum and research library are open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. and museum only 12 noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.