here - Doylestown Historical Society

Introduction
It took several years of planning beginning in 1810 and involving economic and political consequences to move the county seat of Bucks County from Newtown to Doylestown, culminating in the
building of a new courthouse in Doylestown.
The prevailing rationale for the move was the town’s proximity to the geographic center of
the county (about one mile away in an area known now as Poole’s Corner), and the fact that it is positioned at the crossroads of two highways, one between Philadelphia and Easton, now Main Street,
and the other between the Delaware River (New Hope) and the Schuylkill River (Norristown), now
State Street. Once accomplished, the move of the county seat set Doylestown on a cultural and economic path that continues to evolve today.
Doylestown, circa 1812, was emerging from a hamlet in the wilderness into a village. Though
the town at this time consisted of just a few dirt roads, signs of progress were evident. In addition to
the new courthouse, which was actually completed in 1813 at a cost of about $38,000 (the projected
cost of the new courthouse currently under construction is $84 million), Doylestown could boast of a
newspaper (later to become The Daily Intelligencer), school, public library, post office and two taverns.
By the 1912 Centennial anniversary, Doylestown had been through several growth periods and
had come into prominence as a transportation and commercial hub as well as a center of government
and political activity for the county. The 1912 Centennial celebration took place over the course of a
week and featured parades, pageants, military re-enactments and sporting events, much of which we
hope to emulate with our 2012 week-long commemoration.
Beyond Doylestown, 1912 saw the election of Woodrow Wilson as president and the sinking of
the Titanic. The average wage earner brought home an annual income of $1,033; the median price for
a new home hovered around $2,750; a new car could be bought for $941; and a gallon of gas was $.07.
If you were a male born in the United States in 1912, statistics gave you a life expectancy of 48 years.
4
Stu Abramson
President, Doylestown Historical Society
Co-Chairman, County Seat Bicentennial Committee
Lynn B. Goldman
Goldman Law Offices
Co-Chairman County Seat Bicentennial Committee
In this book, the history of Doylestown unfolds largely through photos where you will see the
impact of the evolutionary process on street scenes and buildings, many of which were constructed in the
19th century and are still standing and functioning today. After browsing through the book, it will not be
difficult for you to stand near the original crossroads at State and Main, look in almost any direction and
get a mixed sense of the complications - no electricity, running water, sewers or telephones – as well as
the simplicities of daily life a century or more ago. You will also come away with an appreciation for the
retained charm of our town. We can’t help but wonder what reaction will be evoked from those who will
who witness the same scene at the Tercentennial celebration 100 years hence.
We hope you enjoy this book and its companion video, and keep them as mementos of a time
when we stopped to reflect and enjoy our town on the hill and how it came to be. It has been our distinct
pleasure to organize this event. The opportunity to work with energetic, motivated people who have
volunteered their time, energy and skills to make this event successful has been especially gratifying. We
are grateful to them and to the many municipal and community organizations that have supported the
effort.
5
1912: A Year in the Life of Doylestown
by Edward Levenson
Editor’s Note: In June of 1912 Doylestown celebrated 100 years
as the seat of Bucks County. (In 1810 Governor Snyder had authorized
the removal of the county seat from Newtown to Doylestown; in 1812 the
courthouse was erected; and the first court was held in May of 1813.)
The town celebrated the Centennial of the county seat in a big
way. Called “Old Home Week,” the 1912 celebration featured several
parades, a historical pageant, a costume ball, concerts and other community events, and flags, buntings and banners wherever they could be
draped. Nearly every business and organization in town participated.
One hundred years later, in 2012, as we celebrate the Bicentennial
of the county seat, we asked Edward Levenson, Doylestown Historical
Society historian and newsletter editor, to write about “1912: A Year in
the Life of Doylestown.” As his article, and this book’s “Then and Now”
photos show, Doylestown has changed considerably in the last 100 years.
We wonder what changes the next century will bring. Perhaps, when
Doylestown celebrates its Tercentenary in 2112 as the county seat, some
future historian will write about “2012: A Year in the Life of Doylestown.”
Cover of the 1912 Centennial and
Old Home Week Official Souvenir
Program (DHS archives)
In 1912, Doylestown was a bustling borough with 3,300 residents and was
the seat of Bucks County (population 77,000). It was the largest municipality
by far in Central Bucks and the area’s business, cultural and civic hub.
8
c. 1935 RCS Collection
The “Heart of Doylestown”
The intersection of Main and State
streets in downtown Doylestown has
always been - since 1745, when William Doyle built his tavern - the “Heart
of Doylestown.” In Doyle’s time, Main
Street was called Dyers Mill Road and
State Street was called Coryell’s Ferry
Road to the east and Swedesford Road to
the west. Although their occupants have
changed many times over the years, the
four buildings which anchor the intersection would be recognized by anyone
living a hundred years ago or more, as
evidenced by these “Then” and “Now”
pictures. The view is looking south.
17
c. 1900 Strecker Collection
Easton Road looking north towards town, “Then” and
“Now.” This is a similar view as the ones on the previous
pages, but taken from a point closer to town – about where
the Wawa convenience store is today. At left is a Willow
Grove trolley car at the Fountain House Inn in town.
30
c. 1912 Strecker Collection
The Doylestown Borough School had two significant additions added, one in 1912 and another in 1925. The top photo is of the dedication of the “Annex”(which became the junior high school) in 1912.
On February 23, 1973 the Doylestown Borough School was destroyed
by fire. A stone monument and a plaque (right) commemorate its existence today on the site, which is now a parking lot (above).
77
DOYLESTOWN
UNITED STATES
WORLD
1st trolley line
chartered as Bucks
County Electric Railway Company; it ran
between Doylestown
and Willow Grove
Doylestown Fire House,
home of Doylestown
Fire Company Number
One, built on Shewell
Avenue
1897
1902
In spring of 1898
USS Maine blown
up in Havana Harbor, beginning the
8-month SpanishAmerican War
Zionist Movement
launched, whose
goal was the return
of Jews to Zion, the
Jewish synonym for
Jerusalem and the
Land of Israel
First Rose Bowl
played; in
September of 1901
President William
McKinley
assassinated by
anarchist Leon
Czolgosz
(First) Aswan
Dam on the Nile
River in Upper Egypt
completed; Enrico
Caruso’s 1st
gramophone
recording
Private sewer and
treatment plant
authorized
1903
U.S. acquires
Panama Canal Zone;
Wright Brothers
make first sustained,
powered airplane
flight at Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina
122 Congolese
natives killed by a
Belgian national in
the Congo Free State
of Africa, leading to
the establishment of
the Belgian Congo
Doylestown Borough
Police Department
established
Doylestown commemorates the Centennial
of becoming the county
seat of Bucks County
with a week-long
celebration in June
1905
1912
African-American
civil rights
organization called
the “Niagara
Movement” founded
by W.E.B. DuBois
and William Trotter
Russian Revolution
begins on “Bloody
Sunday” in St.
Petersburg; Albert
Einstein’s Special
Theory of Relativity
published
Woodrow Wilson
elected the 35th
U.S. president;
the American Girl
Guides, renamed the
GIrl Scouts one year
later, is formed
On April 15, on its
maiden voyage, the
luxury liner Titanic,
the largest passenger ship in the world,
sinks in the North
Atlantic after colliding with an iceberg.
More than 1,500
people die.