The History of Bucks County, PA

The sexual harassment attorneys in Bucks County, PA at Abuse Guardian sponsor the following article about the area.

Bucks County

Bucks County is located about 40 miles north of Philadelphia and is just under a two-hour drive from New York City. Some towns within the 398,080-acre county include:

• Ottsville
• Quakertown
• Doylestown
• Newtown
• Longhorne
• Levittown

Early History

In addition to Chester and Philadelphia, Bucks was one of the three counties formed under the rule of William Penn in 1682. Penn named the county after his hometown Buckinghamshire. Pennsbury Manor, his colonial estate, was located in Falls Township.

The manor was used as a summer house and was built upon an 8,000-acre lot that King Charles II gave him. Unfortunately, it spent most of the time empty and began to crumble. Many subsequent owners strived to restore the homestead, but it would never go back to its original glory. In 1940 it was transformed into a museum dedicated to William Penn.

The town Washington Crossing, located on the Delaware River that creates the state border, was named after the voyage taken by George Washington and his troops during the American Revolutionary War. Washington camped along the river before crossing over to successfully take Trenton, New Jersey, on December 26, 1776.

20th Century

In the 1950s, William Jaird Levitt, a real-estate developer and president of Levitt & Sons, moved to Bucks County as his second home. He lived in the present-day area of Levittown. Levitt purchased many acres and converted them into the suburban neighborhoods they are today. Growth in the region increased by 113.4% between 1950 and 1960. In these areas, he built:

• 17,000 homes
• dozens of schools
• parks
• libraries
• shopping centers

Another population spurt would occur in the 19670s but on a smaller scale of just a 32.9% increase. Horse farms and forests would be replaced with office complexes, tract housing, and shopping centers, like the Oxford Valley Mall. Out of the development would come the following communities:

• Middletown
• Lower Makefield Township
• Northampton Township
• Newton Township

Historical Landmarks

Aside from the Pennsbury Manor, the former home of William Penn, the area has several historical places to visit:

• 1800 - Stover-Myers Mill - a watermill located in Bedminster Township on the Tohickon Creek
• 1750 - the Moland House - home of John Moland a prominent lawyer and used in 1777 as George Washington's headquarters
• the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works Museum - formerly a tile factory directed by Henry Chapman Mercer from 1898 until 1930

Demographics

As of 2010, the county's population was 625,249 and increased to 626,976 in 2013. The ethnic breakdown of Bucks County's residents is as follows:

• 86.6% white
• 3.9% African American
• 4.4% Hispanic or Latino
• 4.1% Asian
• 0.3% Native American
• 0.1% Pacific Islander
• 1.5% other races
• 1.7% two or more races

Out of the 218,725 households, the ancestral breakdown of the county in 2000 was the following:

• 20.1% German
• 19.1% Irish
• 14% Italian
• 7.5% English
• 5.9% Polish

The average income per household was $59,727 and per family $68,727. The area has 4.5% of the population living under the poverty line.

See Related: Get to Know Montgomery County, PA 

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