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A−History
History · Upper Makefield Township

11 of Upper Makefield Township’s places are on the National Register

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #396 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Most of Upper Makefield Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1880.

11on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Upper Makefield Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Upper Makefield Township’s history

How historic is Upper Makefield Township?

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More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Upper Makefield Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Upper Makefield Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #396 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Upper Makefield Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19407.4% of homes (±3.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register11 listings, 132 historic buildings, 149 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 62%

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 Upper Makefield Township’s 149 sits above most of its state (90% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 132 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Upper Makefield Township’s past

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

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Upper Makefield Township, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark11 places on the National Register, including Washington Crossing State Park, a National Historic Landmark.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1940, then grew 9-fold.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Brownsburg
1827–1933
Dolington
1827–1933
Taylorsville
1829–1919
Buckmanville
1862–1922
Woodhill
1895–1916
Washington Crossing
1919–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BrownsburgBuckmanvilleDolingtonTaylorsvilleWashington CrossingWoodhill
Gone or out of use
Brownsburg Post Officepost officeDolington Post Officepost officeHunters Hill Farm Airportairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Upper Makefield Township
Makefield Friends Burial GroundsWashington Crossing NationalWashington Crossing NationalWashington Crossing United Methodist

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

Help out

Start Upper Makefield Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Upper Makefield Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWilliam VanHorn House, Taylorsville Roa…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

11 listings protect 132 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
11
National Historic Landmark
1
Washington Crossing State Park
historic buildings protected
132
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Washington Crossing State Park
Makefield MeetingJohn Chapman HouseHayhurst FarmSmith Family FarmsteadEagle Tavern, built 1800Keith House-Washington's HeadquartersJohn Burroughs HomesteadBrownsburg Village Historic DistrictDolington Village Historic DistrictBuckmanville Historic DistrictWashington Crossing State Park★
BuildingsDistrictsSites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Federal5
Gothic Revival3
Georgian2
Victorian2
Italianate2
Greek Revival2
★ Landmark
Washington Crossing State ParkSite
Makefield MeetingSite
John Chapman HouseBuilding
Hayhurst FarmBuilding
Smith Family FarmsteadBuilding
Eagle TavernBuilt 1800
Keith House-Washington's HeadquartersFederal
John Burroughs HomesteadGeorgian
All 11 listings
Brownsburg Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1994Dolington Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1994Buckmanville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2002

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

The story

How Upper Makefield Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Upper Makefield Township.

Read it all →

George Washington and the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River here the night of December 25–26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, leading to the victory at the Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26. Prior to the crossing, Washington had his headquarters at the Keith House, Nathanael Greene at the Samuel Merrick House, Henry Knox and Alexander Hamilton at the John Chapman House, John Sullivan at the John Hayhurst House and William Alexander, Lord Stirling at the Thompson-Neely House.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Upper Makefield Township, 1800 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1800BuiltEagle Tavern is built
  3. 1827Post officeThe Brownsburg post office opens
  4. 1827Post officeThe Dolington post office opens
  5. 1829Post officeThe Taylorsville post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1919Post officeThe Taylorsville post office closes
  9. 1933Post officeThe Brownsburg post office closes
  10. 1933Post officeThe Dolington post office closes
  11. 1961LandmarkWashington Crossing State Park named a National Historic Landmark
  12. 21st century
  13. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 8,857
By decade

Upper Makefield Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
William VanHorn House, Taylorsville Road, Edgeboro, Bucks County, PADate?William VanHorn House, Taylorsville Road, Edgeboro, B…
On the map

Upper Makefield Township on the map, 1907 to 1982

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

Upper Makefield Township on the 1907 USGS mapUpper Makefield Township on the 1982 USGS map1907Trenton sheet · 1:125,000

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

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.

William VanHorn House, Taylorsville Road, Edgeboro, Bucks County, PA
Retake this viewWilliam VanHorn House, Taylorsville Road, Edgeboro, Bucks County, PA

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Upper Makefield Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000188019001920194019601980200020201,470 in 1880Low: 950

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1940, then grew 9-fold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lower Makefield Township6 historic placesBNewtown Township6 historic placesBNewtown GrantIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWrightstown Township10 historic placesASolebury Township12 historic placesB+

Questions about Upper Makefield Township’s history

How does Upper Makefield Township rank for history?

Upper Makefield Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #396 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 Upper Makefield Township?

11 listings: 6 buildings, 3 historic districts, the Brownsburg Village Historic District, the Dolington Village Historic District and the Buckmanville Historic District, with 113 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 132 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Upper Makefield Township?

7% of Upper Makefield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.