About Damascus Township

Damascus Township was created in September, 1798 and is a Second Class Township organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A Board of Supervisors consisting of three elected members governs the Township. The present Board consists of Chairman Joseph Canfield, and Supervisors Steven Adams and Scott Rutledge. Check our Township Officials page for a complete listing of the Officials.

Damascus Township is located in the Delaware River watershed, a National Scenic and Recreational River. Through local planning and enforcement of zoning regulations, and enforcement of State and Federal environmental laws, care is taken to preserve our air and water quality. Damascus Township is also a member of the Upper Delaware Council (UDC). Farms and fields are abundant with many tracts of beautiful wooded areas. The landscape is dotted with residential areas to round out the rural uses.

Numerous small businesses flourish in and near the Township. There are professional service businesses, wholesale and retail businesses, transportation businesses, landscaping services, logging services, excavating services, building professionals, plumbing and heating specialists, and many other services and businesses. The opportunities for new businesses and existing business growth are virtually unlimited. Interstate highways are just minutes away. Local businesses are encouraged to advertise on our website.

Our streams are classified as “exceptional quality” water, affording excellent fishing opportunities. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stocks several streams with trout. With abundant wildlife, fine natural observation and hunting areas are available for the general public, along with camping, canoeing, rafting, and skiing available in the Township or nearby.

Damascus Township is bordered by Manchester Township to the north, Lebanon Township and Oregon Township to the west, and Berlin Township to the south. The eastern side of Damascus Township is the Delaware River, which is the border between Damascus Township in Pennsylvania and the Towns of Delaware, Cochecton and Tusten in Sullivan County, New York.

There are about 95 miles of Township roads and about 83 miles of State highways totalling 178 total miles of roads. Damascus Township contains about 51,000 acres, or 79 square mile of land, comprising 10.6% of the total land in the county. Damascus Township is geographically the largest township in Wayne County, and the sixth largest township in Pennsylvania.

There are three interstate bridges that cross the Delaware River into New York State: Narrowsburg – Darbytown Bridge,  Damascus – Cochecton Bridge, and the Callicoon Bridge. Maintenance on these bridges is under the jurisdiction of the New York-Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission which enlists the cooperation between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the New York Department of Transportation.

This is a friendly, forward-looking community with planning and zoning ordinances in place and enforced to maintain the pleasant rural setting with orderly development. The Township officials are pleased to serve the community, and are accessible and available to the citizens.

You are encouraged to browse through our website or travel our country roads to see our Township.

Wayne County was set off from Northampton County lying north of Shohola Creek in 1798. In The First Court of Wayne County, September 1798, a petition was made for 6 townships to be erected: Buckingham, Mount Pleasant, Damascus, Palmyra, Canaan and Lackawaxen.

In the early 1800’s, Berlin Township, Dyberry Township, and Lebanon Township were divided from Damascus Township.

The remaining 51,785 acres, or 10.6% of the total land in Wayne County, constitute the present Township, which is geographically the largest township in the county.

Early settlers in Damascus Township include: Joseph Skinner (1755), Simeon Calkin, Nathan Mitchell, Moses Thomas, Sr., Robert Land, Jesse Drake, Nicholas Conklin, Simeon Bush, Alexander Rutledge, Thomas Shields, and John Boyd. Other early surnames included Tyler, Keesler, Brigham, Sutliff, Kellam, and Young.

Damascus Township’s Comprehensive Plan can be downloaded here: Comprehensive Plan