Chronological History of Doylestown Borough

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 (sic) Tavern, its strategic location at the intersection of the road linking Swede's Ford (Norristown) and Coryell's Ferry (New Hope) - now Route 202 - and the road linking Philadelphia and Easton - now 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, and mid-19th century technological advances strengthened its growth as a cultural, commercial, and institutional center for the region. An electric telegraph station was built in 1846 and in 1856 a branch of the North Pennsylvania Railroad was completed to Doylestown. Shortly before the Civil War, Doylestown took on a brighter appearance when 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 the construction of the Doylestown English and Classical Seminary stimulated additional residential development on the wooded lands lying on the west side of the Borough. In that same year, following a decisive vote, Doylestown established a water works. A pump and distribution basin was constructed on East Court Street adjacent to the Doylestown Cemetery, at the location of the present day water tower.

The first telephone line arrived in 1878, the same year that a new courthouse was erected. In 1892, electricity began to replace gas lights and, once again, the ambiance of the Borough evolved. The new electric street lamps were soon accompanied by trash receptacles, courtesy of the Village Improvement Association, formed in 1895 by a small group of community minded ladies who promoted the civic health and beauty of Doylestown.

The turn of the century heralded other important infrastructure improvements besides electrification. 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, which reinforced the community as a center for cultural attractions. Apart from Mercer, Doylestown has a rich legacy of civic gifts from its citizens. Among them are the Melinda Cox Free Public Library in 1916, the Fanny Chapman Memorial Swimming Pool in 1926, and the Blanche Burpee Playground.

Doylestown had a population of 4,577 in 1930. 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. Subdivisions such as Maplewood, Clemens Farms, and Belmont Square were all products of this period of sustained residential growth.

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. In an effort to protect and enhance one of its most valuable and fragile resources -- the historic character of the community, the Borough established a Historic and Architectural Review Board (H.A.R.B.) in 1972.

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.

Regional Setting - The Last 25 Years

Since 1969, the Borough has increased by more than 1,000 housing units. However, its population has remained fairly stable due to a decrease in the number of persons per household. This demographic shift parallels national trends toward smaller household size due to an aging population, more single-person households, later age of marriage, higher rates of divorce, and other factors.

Over the past 25 years, the Borough has witnessed several national and local economic cycles. The complexion of Doylestown's central business district has also changed, reflecting changes in consumer shopping patterns, the lifestyle of the Borough's residents, and the emergence of a new economic sector -- tourism. Paralleling both regional trends in the northeast as well as national trends, Doylestown has seen a reduction in its industrial base and an increase in its service sector.

In the mid-1970's, historic preservation became formalized and regulated, with the establishment of the H.A.R.B. During the 1970's work began on the Route 202 bypass and the Route 611 bypass. Although it is still not fully complete, the bypass has helped alleviate some traffic volume from the center of town.

Beginning in the 1980's, the Borough began to see an increase in the demand for the convenient in-town living that Doylestown offers. This has spurred a new market for both infill housing and commercial space that continues through the present. One result has been increased investment by way of infill, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse along some of the Borough's many alleyways.

Perhaps the most dramatic changes during the past 25 years have not occurred in the Borough, but in the surrounding Central Bucks region. While the first wave of suburbanization hit Lower Bucks between 1950 and 1970, the Central Bucks region experienced more dramatic transformation in the decades from 1970 to the present. The impact of this recent development is highly apparent in the growth corridors, such as Route 202, surrounding the Borough.

Between 1970 and 1990, Doylestown Township has more than doubled in population. During the same period, new commercial development in the Township was primarily concentrated along the transportation corridors immediately to the north of the Borough. Despite the more intense urbanization surrounding Doylestown, more than 50% of the overall land use in Central Bucks was still agriculture, rural residential, or vacant in 1990.

Since 1980, the County's population has both grown older and decreased in size (persons per household), paralleling national demographic trends. Following the increase in population have been increases in jobs and a nearly doubling in the median household income, reflecting the fact that much of the County's new growth is more affluent suburban development. As is the case in the Borough, employment in manufacturing has declined while jobs in the service sector has significantly increased across the County during the past 30 years. While visitors have always been attracted to the scenic natural and historic resources of the County, tourism emerged as a bona fide sector of the County economy during the 1980's. With 54 percent of residents employed outside the county in 1990, Bucks remains a county composed of many "bedroom communities".

Regional Setting - The Next 25 Years

During the next 25 years, Central Bucks will continue to grow as the lower portion of the County reaches capacity. According to the 1993 Bucks County Comprehensive Plan:

"Central Bucks is expected to accommodate a great portion of the total future development with sizable increases anticipated to occur in the Doylestown planning area. In addition, if the Route 202 expressway Between Doylestown and Montgomeryville is constructed, accessibility to the area would increase, and thus increase development pressures even more. Adjacent portions of the Buckingham area are also anticipated to grow at a greater rate than in the past, complimenting the growth in the Doylestown planning area."

The County population is projected to increase by 31% between 1990 and 2020 (refer to chart on next page). However, the more immediate area in which Doylestown is located is projected to increase by 60 to 100% by the year 2020. Some of this dramatic growth potential is already in the pipeline; between 1984 and 1993, the six Townships located closest to Doylestown issued approvals for more than 23,000 housing units. While the housing market in Bucks County should show continued strength, demographic trends towards an aging population and decreased household size will have an impact on the types of housing developed in the coming decades.

After reviewing the impacts of this future growth projected for the adjacent municipalities, it was concluded that the most significant impact on the Borough will occur with respect to increasing traffic. In particular, the most noticeable traffic increases are expected to be generated by new housing units in Buckingham Township, either built or approved during the past decade along Cold Spring-Creamery Road. In recent years Borough residents, especially along Swamp Road and North Street, have already experienced a noticeable increase in traffic. Ultimately, Court Street and State Street will be impacted as well, as the total traffic increases filter throughout the road system.

Other areas surrounding the Borough are projected to have a less acute impact. The area along Lower State Road in Doylestown Township, which filters into the Borough on West Court Street, is not expected to grow by more than 200 units, according to the township's planning consultant. Much less new housing is expected along Green Street and Pebble Hill Road in Doylestown Township, although modest increases may be felt from new development further south in Warwick Township. Due to its less adjacent configuration and existing development patterns, New Britain Township will have less impact than either Doylestown Township or Buckingham Township.

One of the planning challenges for the Borough and, the entire region, is recognizing that some of the key stimulants to growth -- a good transportation network, available infrastructure, and the availability of cultural and natural resource amenities -- are also threatened by the impacts of growth. The challenge for the Borough and the surrounding municipalities is to find improved formulas for sustainable growth -- growth that can occur without depleting the region's resources for future generations. Unfortunately, due to the combination of municipal control over land use and the absence of statutory authority for substantive county or regional planning, there is little the Borough can do to influence what happens in the surrounding region.

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