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Main Street NB at State Street DoylestownPhoto: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−History
History · Doylestown Township

Doylestown Township dates to 1745, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #371 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Most of Doylestown Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 12 buildings. Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1840.

1745founded
5on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
23old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Doylestown Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Doylestown Township began

When was Doylestown Township founded?

1745

Doylestown Township dates its founding to 1745 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 627 in 18402020 census: 17,971281 years

How historic is Doylestown Township?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1881.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Doylestown Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Doylestown Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #371 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Doylestown Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1745, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19402.8% of homes (±1.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register5 listings, 22 historic buildings, 12.2 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 64%

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Doylestown Township’s 12.2 sits above most of its state (79% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1745.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Doylestown Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.A town in old photos23 old photos, postcards and papers, 1861–1933.On the map since 18907 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1992. Watch Doylestown Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Doylestown Township, and 7 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · People over time

Doylestown Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018501900195020002,070 in 1880Low: 1,369

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Doylestown Township’s Wikipedia page.

By decade

Doylestown Township, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1880s6 items
Recruits Wanted for the Ringgold Regiment, 104th Pennsylvania Volunteers1861Recruits Wanted for the Ringgold Regiment, 104th Penn…Recruiting poster 179th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment1863Recruiting poster 179th Pennsylvania Infantry RegimentDiploma awarded to (blank) by the Doylestown Agricultural and Mechanics Institute ... - James Queen ; P.S. Duval, Son &…1867Diploma awarded to (blank) by the Doylestown Agricult…Diploma awarded to [blank] by the Doylestown Agricultural and Mechanics Institute1867Diploma awarded to [blank] by the Doylestown Agricult…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Bucks County - Doylestown - ED 9-28, ED 9-29, ED 9-30, ED 9-31, …18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Bucks County - Doylestown - ED 9-28, ED 9-29, ED 9-30, ED 9-31, …18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …
1890s–1930s17 items
Atlas of Bucks Co., Penna1891Atlas of Bucks Co., PennaMapAtlas of Bucks Co., Penna1891Atlas of Bucks Co., PennaMapDoylestown PA Presby PHS1691923Doylestown PA Presby PHS169PostcardDETAIL VIEW OF STONE VENTILATOR SLIT - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 202 vicinity1933DETAIL VIEW OF STONE VENTILATOR SLIT - Stone Barn, U.…DETAIL VIEW OF STONE WORK - William Moore Barn (1797), Doylestown Township (2 miles North of Doylestown)1933DETAIL VIEW OF STONE WORK - William Moore Barn (1797)…GENERAL VIEW - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 202 (west of Doylestown)1933GENERAL VIEW - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 202 (west of Do…GENERAL VIEW - William Moore Barn (1797), Doylestown Township (2 miles North of Doylestown)1933GENERAL VIEW - William Moore Barn (1797), Doylestown …GENERAL VIEW, FRONT SIDE - Stone Barn, State Route 1131933GENERAL VIEW, FRONT SIDE - Stone Barn, State Route 113GENERAL VIEW, FRONT SIDE. NOTE FOREBAY IN FOREGROUND - Stone Barn, Stone Route 212 (east of Doylestown)1933GENERAL VIEW, FRONT SIDE. NOTE FOREBAY IN FOREGROUND …GENERAL VIEW, REAR ELEVATION - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 202 (west of Doylestown)1933GENERAL VIEW, REAR ELEVATION - Stone Barn, U.S. Route…GENERAL VIEW, REAR ELEVATION - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 2021933GENERAL VIEW, REAR ELEVATION - Stone Barn, U.S. Route…GENERAL VIEW, REAR SIDE - Stone Barn, State Route 1131933GENERAL VIEW, REAR SIDE - Stone Barn, State Route 113GENERAL VIEW, SHOWING SIDE ELEVATION - Barn, U.S. Route 6111933GENERAL VIEW, SHOWING SIDE ELEVATION - Barn, U.S. Rou…GENERAL VIEW. NOTE PENT ROOFS, HOOD (OVER UPPER FLOOR DOOR). - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 2021933GENERAL VIEW. NOTE PENT ROOFS, HOOD (OVER UPPER FLOOR…GENERAL VIEW. STONE WALLS ARE PLASTERED. NOTE STONE VENTILATOR SLITS - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 202 vicinity1933GENERAL VIEW. STONE WALLS ARE PLASTERED. NOTE STONE V…INTERIOR OF BARN - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 202 vicinity1933INTERIOR OF BARN - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 202 vicinityPerspective view of front facade - Doylestown Post Office1933Perspective view of front facade - Doylestown Post Of…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Doylestown Township on the map, 1890 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Doylestown Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Doylestown Township on the 1890 USGS mapDoylestown Township on the 1943 USGS mapDoylestown Township on the 1953 USGS mapDoylestown Township on the 1968 USGS mapDoylestown Township on the 1973 USGS mapDoylestown Township on the 1983 USGS mapDoylestown Township on the 1992 USGS map1890Doylestown sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Doylestown Township.

The story

How Doylestown Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Doylestown Township.

Read it all →

Like most of eastern Pennsylvania, present-day Doylestown was inhabited by the Lenape people prior to European settlement. The Lenape, who called the region Lenapehoking, lived along the waterways of the Delaware Valley for thousands of years before William Penn began colonizing Pennsylvania in 1681. European settlers arrived in the area in the early 18th century, drawn by the fertile land of central Bucks County and the crossroads that would become Doylestown's defining geographic feature.

Chapters18th century19th century20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Doylestown Township, 1745 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1745
    FoundingDoylestown Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1861In the archiveRecruits Wanted for the Ringgold Regiment, 104th Pennsylvania Volunteers
  5. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Bucks County - Doylestown - ED 9-2…
  6. 1881Post officeThe Edison post office opens
  7. 1881Post officeThe Tradesville post office opens
  8. 1886Post officeThe Furlong post office opens
  9. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1891In the archiveAtlas of Bucks Co., Penna
  11. 1898BuiltMoravian Pottery and Tile Works is built
  12. 20th century
  13. 1911Post officeThe Tradesville post office closes
  14. 1923In the archiveDoylestown PA Presby PHS169
  15. 1933In the archiveDETAIL VIEW OF STONE VENTILATOR SLIT - Stone Barn, U.S. Route 202 vicinity
  16. 1972Post officeThe Edison post office closes
  17. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 8,717
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Recruits Wanted for the Ringgold Regiment, 104th Pennsylvania Volunteers
Retake this viewRecruits Wanted for the Ringgold Regiment, 104th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Doylestown Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 listings protect 22 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
22
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Fonthill
FonthillFordhook FarmTabor Home for Needy and Destitute ChildrenOscar Hammerstein II FarmMoravian Pottery and Tile Works, built 1898
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian2
Georgian1
Federal1
Colonial Revival1
Greek Revival1
Queen Anne1
FonthillBuilding
Fordhook FarmGeorgian
Tabor Home for Needy and Destitute ChildrenSecond Empire
Oscar Hammerstein II Farm19th Century Revival
All 5 listings
Moravian Pottery and Tile WorksBuilding · listed 1972

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Edison
1881–1972
Tradesville
1881–1911
Furlong
1886–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bridge PointCastle ValleyEdisonFarm SchoolPine RunPools CornerTradesville
Gone or out of use
Edison Post Officepost officeFurlong Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Doylestown Township
Doylestown Mennonite

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Doylestown Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRecruits Wanted for the Ringgold Regime…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Doylestown7 historic placesA+New BritainIts storyBWarwick Township4 historic placesBBuckingham Township11 historic placesA−New Britain Township2 historic placesB+Warrington TownshipIts storyC+Plumstead Township3 historic placesA−

Questions about Doylestown Township’s history

What year was Doylestown Township founded?

In 1745, according to Wikidata. Doylestown Township’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1840 counted 627 people here.

How does Doylestown Township rank for history?

Doylestown Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #371 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Doylestown Township?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Fonthill (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the Fordhook Farm, with 12 contributing buildings. 22 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Doylestown Township?

3% of Doylestown Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1979.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (22), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.