Hawley's historic downtown business section developed mainly along Main Avenue and Church Street from Main to Bishop Avenue, with streets laid out by the Pennsylvania Coal Company in the 1840s and 1850s. Part of Main Avenue between the Lackawaxen River bridge and Hudson Street was added only after the canal basin was drained after 1898, when earlier riverbank roadways such as Park Place had provided access to First Street. Teeter's Furniture has occupied the corner of Main and Church since 1849, although its building was rebuilt after a 1986 fire, and the Wayne County House built in 1860 still stood in 2019. Fires in 1897 and 1898 destroyed many downtown buildings and led to the start of the Hawley Fire Department in 1898. In 1902, the 1st National Bank of Hawley and the Hotel Belvidere were built, reflecting the district's rebuilding and continued commercial importance.