Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Doylestown is the name of both a borough and the adjacent township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 34 miles (55 km) north of Philadelphia. At the turn of the century in 1900, 3,034 people lived in the borough of Doylestown, and in 1910, 3,304 people lived there. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 8,227, and the township a population of 16,747. The borough is the county seat of Bucks County.

History

Doylestown's origins date to 1745 when William Doyle obtained a license to build a tavern on what is presently the northwest corner of Main and State Streets. Known for years as "William Doyle's Tavern", its strategic location at the intersection of the road linking Swede's Ford (Norristown) and Coryell's Ferry (New Hope) (now U.S. Route 202) and the road linking Philadelphia and Easton (now PA Route 611) - allowed the hamlet to blossom into a village. The first church was erected in 1815, followed by the establishment of a succession of congregations throughout the 19th century.

During the first decade of the 19th century discontent developed with the location of the county seat for Bucks County because Newtown was not a central location. The more centrally located Doylestown became the county seat in 1813. An outgrowth of Doylestown's new courthouse was the development of "lawyers row", a collection of Federal-style offices. One positive consequence of early 19th century investment in the new county seat was organized fire protection, which began in 1825 with the Doylestown Fire Engine Company.

In 1838 the Borough of Doylestown was incorporated.

An electric telegraph station was built in 1846 and in 1856 a branch of the North Pennsylvania Railroad was completed to Doylestown. The first gas lights were introduced in 1854. Because of the town's relatively high elevation and a lack of strong water power, substantial industrial development never occurred and Doylestown evolved to have a professional and residential character.

During the mid-nineteenth century several large tracts located east of the courthouse area were subdivided into neighborhoods. The next significant wave of development occurred after the Civil War when the 30-acre Magill property to the southwest of the town's core was subdivided for residential lots.

In 1869 Doylestown established a water works. The first telephone line arrived in 1878, the same year that a new courthouse was erected. 1897 saw the first of several trolley lines connecting Doylestown with Willow Grove, Newtown and Easton beginning operation. A private sewer system and treatment plant was authorized in 1903. The Borough took over and expanded sewer service to about three-quarters of the town in 1921.

In the early 20th century, Doylestown became best known to the outside world through the museum of the Bucks County Historical Society, following Henry Mercer's construction of the reinforced concrete building in 1916 to house his collection of mechanical tools and utensils. Upon his death in 1930, Mercer also left his home, Fonthill, to be operated as a tile museum.

By 1931, the advent of the automobile and improved highway service had put the last trolley line out of business and Doylestonians were forced to embrace the automobile as the primary means of travel within the region. The Great Depression took its toll, as many grant old houses constructed a century earlier fell into disrepair. During the 1930's, the Borough also expanded its land area to the north by admission of the tract known as the Doylestown Annex.

In the decade following World War II, Doylestown's business community boomed. During the 1940's, streets were paved for the first time in two decades and parking meters were introduced downtown in 1948. However, the Borough's post-war housing boom did not begin in earnest until the 1950's, when 550 new homes were built. This housing boom continued into the 1960's and 1970's, as more than 1,600 new homes were built during those decades and the Borough's population grew from 5,917 in 1960 to 8,717 in 1980.

As with many small towns across the country, the growth of the post war decades also brought a new competitor to the downtown business district -- the shopping mall. By the 1960's, the toll could be seen in Doylestown by the numerous vacant buildings and dilapidated storefronts in the center of town. The Bucks County Redevelopment Authority responded with a federal urban renewal scheme that called for the demolition of 27 historic buildings. The local business community objected to such wholesale clearance and responded with its own plan called Operation '64 -- the Doylestown Plan for Self-Help Downtown Renewal. This private initiative was successful in saving Doylestown's old buildings and historic character, while improving business at the same time. One historic landmark that could not be saved was the 80-year-old courthouse and clock tower, which was replaced by the present county complex in the early 1960's.

By the end of the 1980's, the downtown business district was again showing the toll of massive new competition from the latest wave of suburban shopping centers, as well as the recession that hit hardest in the northeastern states. In response, the Borough Council established a volunteer group of civic-minded representatives from business organizations, government, and the residential community to begin to formulate plans for the downtown area in 1992. This effort resulted in streetscape improvements composed of cast iron street lamps and brick pavers, facade improvements and other beautification efforts, and the establishment of a Main Street Manager Program.

Personalities

Doylestown is known for being the home of author James A. Michener, architect and archaeologist Henry Chapman Mercer, lyricist and playwright Oscar Hammerstein II, nobel-prize winning author Pearl S. Buck, American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini, anthropologist Margaret Mead, actor Timothy Stack, pop star Pink (musician), Christian pop artist James Chester, and motion picture director Stefan Avalos. It is also the birthplace of three One Life to Live stars: Erin Torpey (who left the show in 2003), and siblings Kristen Alderson and Eddie Alderson.

Culture

Doylestown Borough is home to three structures designed and built by Henry Chapman Mercer as museums and cultural sites. The Mercer Museum houses a collection known as, "Tools of the Nation Builder," and is one of the most important collections of its kind in the world. The Bucks County Historical Society also maintains a research library adjoining the museum. Fonthill (also known as "Mercer's Castle") was Mercer's home and houses his collection of artifacts from around the world. The Moravian Tile Works is an operational factory using the tools and techniques used by Pennsylvania German potters in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The former prison, across the street from the Mercer Museum, has been converted into the James A. Michener Art Museum. The borough also boasts a small music conservatory, writers' and artists' organizations and other cultural activities.

Doylestown is also located near the Polish-American Roman Catholic shrine known as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, which houses a painting of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, Poland.

- The Fountain House, a historic building, is located in Doylestown Borough.

Education

Doylestown is the location of several educational facilities of the Central Bucks School District, including three elementary schools (Doyle Elementary, Linden Elementary and Paul W. Kutz Elementary), one middle school (Lenape Middle School), and one high school (Central Bucks West). It is also the location of Delaware Valley College, an agricultural school.

Geography

Doylestown is located at (40.312756, -75.128799).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 5.6 km² (2.2 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,227 people, 3,952 households, and 1,908 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,477.4/km² (3,822.5/mi²). There were 4,055 housing units at an average density of 728.2/km² (1,884.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 96.04% White, 1.30% African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.42% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population.

There were 3,952 households out of which 19.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.7% were non-families. 44.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the borough the population was spread out with 16.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 25.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 79.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.7 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $46,148, and the median income for a family was $71,988. Males had a median income of $48,553 versus $31,703 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $32,249. About 2.5% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Doylestown is connected to Philadelphia by SEPTA's R5 Regional Rail Line and 55 bus. Doylestown Station is the last stop on the R5 line. Doylestown also has a small public transportation system called DART, which consists (as of March, 2006) of a single bus route.

Points of interest

References

External links

Boroughs in Pennsylvania | Bucks County, Pennsylvania

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