Doylestown is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of

Center City, Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...

, southeast of

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...

, and southwest of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. As of the 2020 census, the borough population was 8,300.

History

Main Street NB approaching Court Street Doylestown

Like most of the region, the area of Doylestown was inhabited by the Lenape people until the arrival of the Europeans. Doylestown's origins date to March 1745 when William Doyle obtained a license to build a tavern on what is now the northwest corner of Dyers Road and Coryell's Ferry Road (now Main and State Streets). Known for years as "William Doyle's Tavern," its strategic location, at the intersection of the road (now U.S. Route 202) linking Swede's Ford (

Norristown Norristown may mean: * Norristown, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home ...

) and Coryell's Ferry ( New Hope) and the road (now PA Route 611) linking

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and Easton, allowed the hamlet to grow into a village. The first church was erected in 1815, followed by a succession of congregations throughout the 19th century.MacReynolds, George, ''Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania'', Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, Doylestown Borough. A second inn, the Sign of the Ship was established in 1774, built diagonally across from the Doyle Tavern. Samuel Flack was innkeeper in 1778. As the population of Central and Upper Bucks County grew throughout the 18th and into the 19th century, discontent developed with the county seat's location in Newtown, where it had been since 1725. Eight petitions with a total of 184 signers were submitted to the General Assembly, some as early as 1784, requesting the move of the county seat to Doylestown. Among the signers were Andrew Armstrong, John Armstrong, John Davis, Andrew Denison, Jesse Fell, Joseph Fell, John Ingham (of Ingham Springs), Michael Frederick Kolb, Zebulon M. Pike (of Lumberton), Samuel Preston, Robert Shewell, Walter Shewell, and Fulkerd Sebring. The General Assembly approved the move by an Act on February 28, 1810, and the first Court session was opened on May 11, 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. A post office was established on January 1, 1802. Charles Stewart, the first postmaster, carried letters to recipients in the bell-shaped crown of his high beaver hat as he walked about the village. When Stewart died on February 7, 1804, his son-in-law Enoch Harvey became the next postmaster. On October 9, 1804 Harvey advertised in the ''Pennsylvania Correspondent'', published in Doylestown, of a list of letters remaining in the post office for Wm. R. Hanna, Esq., Newtown; Doct. Felix Robertson, Bucks County; Robert Wehir, Shamony, Bucks County; Robert A. Farmer, Esq., Birdsborough; Israel Childs, Buckingham. A bill to erect Doylestown into a borough was introduced into Legislature in February 1830, but failed, as well as a second attempt in the session of 1832. "An Act to erect the Village of Doylestown, in the County of Bucks, into a Borough" was passed and signed into law by Governor

Joseph Ritner Joseph Ritner (March 25, 1780 – October 16, 1869) was the eighth Governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and was a member of the Anti-Masonic Party. Elected Governor of Pennsylvania during the 1835 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, h ...

on April 16, 1838. An electric telegraph station was built in 1846, and the

North Pennsylvania Railroad The North Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company which served Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Northampton County in Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1852 and began operation in 1855. The Philadelphia and Reading Railway, ...

completed a branch to Doylestown in 1856. 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-19th 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 A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, when the 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. A private sewer system and treatment plant were 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 "Tools of the Nation-Maker" museum of the Bucks County Historical Society. Henry Chapman Mercer constructed the reinforced concrete building in 1916 to house his collection of mechanical tools and utensils. Upon his death in 1930, Mercer also left his similarly constructed home Fonthill and adjacent

Moravian Pottery and Tile Works The Moravian Pottery & Tile Works (MPTW) is a history museum located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the County of Bucks, and operated by TileWorks of Bucks County, a 501c3 non-profit organization. The museum was individually listed on ...

, to be operated as a museum. The home was left on the condition that his housekeeper be allowed to live there for the rest of her life. She lived there and gave tours until the mid-1970s. In 1916, Doylestown Country Club was established and still operates a private golf course and caddy program. By 1931, the advent of the automobile and improved highway service had put the last trolley line out of business as Doylestonians used the automobile as the primary means of travel within the region. The Great Depression took its toll, as many grand old houses constructed a century earlier fell into disrepair. During the 1930s, 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 1940s, streets were paved for the first time in two decades and parking meters were introduced downtown in 1948. However, the postwar housing boom did not begin in earnest until the 1950s, when 550 new homes were built. The housing boom continued into the 1960s and 1970s, 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 postwar decades also brought a new competitor to the downtown business district, the shopping mall. By the 1960s, 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 1960s. By the end of the 1980s, 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 formulating 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. As the 1990s progressed, the downtown area rebuilt itself largely by turning to an out-of-town audience. Doylestown had long been respected as a bucolic tourist destination. The gentry of Philadelphia and New York, including figures of the Manhattan theater and literary scenes, maintained country estates in the area and often summered there. The Mercer Museum, Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, and the local

National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa ''(or simply Czestochowa)'', known also as the American Czestochowa is a Polish-American Roman Catholic shrine near Doylestown, Pennsylvania, founded in 1953. It houses a reproduction of the Black ...

brought a regular stream of short-term visitors through the area as well. With charitable support, the

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

County Theater was restored and reopened showing art-house fare, and a new main library and art museum were built around the ruins of the old stone jail, across the street from the Mercer Museum. An official "resort town" designation exempted the area from liquor license caps, and empty commercial space began to fill with a dense and vibrant nighttime scene of bars and restaurants. This development goes hand in hand with the broader development of the region. As the Philadelphia metropolitan area expanded from southern into central Bucks County, the fields and farms of the communities around Doylestown quickly began to sprout housing developments. This development brought thousands of people to the area, but the neighborhoods created often lacked longstanding institutions or discernible centers. Doylestown, more centrally located than the Delaware River border town of New Hope, which had traditionally served this function, was able to position itself as the regional center of culture and nightlife. Archival collection and community programming are two functions of the Doylestown Historical Society, established in 1995, whose mission is "to commemorate and preserve the history of Doylestown so that its people, places and events may long be remembered." The

Doylestown Historic District The Doylestown Historic District is a national historic district located in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The district is composed of one thousand fifty-five contributing buildings in the central business district and surrounding res ...

Pugh Dungan House Pugh Dungan House is a historic home located in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1830, and is a -story, five bay, stuccoed brick and fieldstone dwelling in the Federal style. It features a single bay, pedimented porti ...

, Fonthill, Fountain House,

Oscar Hammerstein II Farm Oscar Hammerstein II Farm, also known as the Highland Farm, is a historic home and farm in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The farmhouse was built in 1840, and is a three-story, three bay, stuccoed masonry residence with a hipped roof. ...

James-Lorah House James-Lorah House, also known as the Judge Chapman House and VIA House, is a historic home located in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1844, and is a -story, stuccoed townhouse dwelling with a medium gable roof. It has ...

Mercer Museum The Mercer Museum is a museum located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The Bucks County Historical Society operates the Mercer Museum, as well as the Research Library, and Fonthill Castle, former home of the museum's founder, archeologist Henry Chapm ...

, and Shaw Historic District are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land. Doylestown Borough is bordered by Doylestown Township, except to the northeast where it borders Buckingham Township. Natural features of Doylestown Borough include Cooks Run and

Neshaminy Creek Neshaminy Creek is a United States Geological Survey. National Hydrography DatasetThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 stream that runs entirely through Bucks County, Pennsylvania, rising south of the borough of Chalfont, where its north ...

.MacReynolds, George, ''Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania'', Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the borough was 94.8% Non-Hispanic White, 2.3% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.5% were two or more races. 2.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestr

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 3,822.5 people per square mile (1,477.4/km²). There were 4,055 housing units at an average density of 1,884.1 per square mile (728.2/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.24% White (U.S. Census), White, 0.30%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.11% Native American, 1.42% Asian, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.43% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.63% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 2.20% 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.

Arts and culture

Doylestown Borough is home to three structures designed and built by Henry Chapman Mercer. The

, a structure built in poured concrete, is the home to Mercer's collection of early American artifacts. It also houses a collection known as "Tools of the Nation-Maker", one of the most important of its kind in the world. Bucks County Historical Society also maintains the Spruance Library, 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

is an operational facility utilizing 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 located near the Polish-American

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

shrine known as the

, which houses a painting of the

Black Madonna The term ''Black Madonna'' or ''Black Virgin'' tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. The Black Madonna can be found both ...

of Częstochowa, Poland. The Fountain House, a historic building, is located in Doylestown Borough.

Points of interest

Delaware Valley University Delaware Valley University (DelVal) is a private university in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1896, it enrolls approximately 1,900 students on its suburban, 570-acre campus. DelVal offers more than 28 undergraduate majors, seven master's p ...

* Fonthill Museum *

Hepatitis B Foundation The Hepatitis B Foundation (HBF) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B and improving the lives of those already affected by the disease. Established in 1991, the foundation's headquarters is in Doylesto ...

Henry Schmieder Arboretum The Henry Schmieder Arboretum (60 acres) is an arboretum and collection of gardens located across the campus of Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is open daily without charge. The arboretum's tree and garden collections inclu ...

* James A. Michener Art Museum *

* Peace Valley Park * Pearl S. Buck House * Ringing Rocks Park

Government

Doylestown has a council-manager form of government consisting of a "weak" Mayor and a nine-member Borough Council. The Mayor is elected at-large to a term of four years. The Borough Council is divided into three wards, with each ward electing three members to terms of four years. Borough Council is in charge of enacting legislation, raising and spending public money, regulating land use, and providing public services. The council is required to meet once a month to conduct business. The Borough Council contains seven subcommittees. As of 2022, the Mayor of Doylestown is Elnora "Noni" West. The Borough Council consists of Council President Jack O'Brien, Council Vice-President Wendy Margolis, Ben Bell, Tim Brennan, Lawrence Browne, Dennis Livrone, Joe Frederick, Jennifer Jarret, and Amy Taylor Popkin.

Education

Doylestown borough is the location of several educational facilities of the Central Bucks School District. The borough contains three elementary schools (Doyle Elementary, Cold Spring Elementary and Linden Elementary), one middle school (Lenape Middle School) and one high school ( Central Bucks West) which has long been a football and girls' soccer powerhouse. Bucks County's regional educational service agency, Bucks County Intermediate Unit No. 22, is also located in the borough. Doylestown Township, which is adjacent to the borough, contains Paul W. Kutz Elementary and also the campus of

, which is primarily known as an agricultural and science school.

Media

'' The Intelligencer'', a daily newspaper serving central and northern Bucks County along with nearby areas of eastern Montgomery County, is headquartered in Doylestown. In 1948, WBUX signed-on with 5,000 watts at 1570 on the AM dial. Today as WISP the station airs an All-Catholic format.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Doylestown PA SEPTA station October 2017

The main north-south street in Doylestown is Main Street while the main east-west street is State Street, which forms a

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descripti ...

with Oakland Avenue in the downtown area.

Pennsylvania Route 611 Pennsylvania Route 611 (PA 611) is a state highway in eastern Pennsylvania running from Interstate 95 (I-95) in the southern part of the city of Philadelphia north to I-380 in Coolbaugh Township in the Pocono Mountains. Within Philadelphia, P ...

bypasses Doylestown to the west on a freeway, heading north to Easton and south to

. U.S. Route 202 bypasses the center of the borough to the south and heads southwest to

and northeast to New Hope. US 202 follows a parkway alignment from Doylestown southwest to Montgomeryville, with U.S. Route 202 Business serving as a business route to Montgomeryville, passing through New Britain and Chalfont.

Pennsylvania Route 313 Pennsylvania Route 313 (PA 313) is a mostly 2-lane, state highway entirely within Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The western end of PA 313 is at an intersection with PA 309 and PA 663 in Quakertown. The eastern end is at an intersection with PA ...

runs northwest-southeast along the northern edge of Doylestown on Swamp Road and heads northwest to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and Quakertown and southeast to

Pennsylvania Route 263 Pennsylvania Route 263 (PA 263) is a north–south state highway located in southeast Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at PA 611 in Willow Grove, Montgomery County. The northern terminus is at the Centre ...

Furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

, where Swamp Road continues as an unnumbered road towards Newtown. The downtown area of Doylestown has on-street parking and parking lots that are regulated by parking meters during the day Monday through Saturday, with parking free on evenings and Sunday. The borough offers 6-month parking permits that can be used in certain metered spots. Free parking is available at the Bucks County Parking Garage on Broad Street. The

Lansdale/Doylestown Line The Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Until 1981, diesel-powered trains continued on the Bethlehem Branch from Lansdale to Quakertown, Bet ...

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...

connects Doylestown to

Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...

and many points in between.

Doylestown station Doylestown station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is the last station along SEPTA's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. Located at the intersection of Bridge Street and Clinton Avenue, the station has a 169-space parking lo ...

is the northernmost stop. Doylestown is served by SEPTA City Bus Route 55, which heads south to

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, Willow Grove, Abington, Jenkintown and finally the Olney Transportation Center in

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...

. There is also intercity bus service provided to Doylestown from a bus stop at the Doylestown station. Trans-Bridge Lines connects Doylestown to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 buse ...

in New York City, with some daily runs extending northward to

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

. Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service to Doylestown along a route running between the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal and

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

. Fullington Trailways provides intercity bus service to Doylestown along a route running between the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal in Philadelphia and Williamsport, serving several places in northern Pennsylvania. Locally, Doylestown is served by a small public transportation system called the " Doylestown DART" (Doylestown Area Regional Transit). Doylestown DART is a service of Bucks County Transport and consists of a single weekday route and a single Saturday route. Often used by the elderly, it travels to various destinations in Doylestown, including government offices, schools, stores, restaurants, pharmacies, senior residences, and Doylestown Hospital. Bucks County Transport also operates the DART West, which runs weekdays from a connection with the Doylestown DART at

west to New Britain and Chalfont. The Bucks County Courthouse Shuttle is operated weekdays by Bucks County Transport. The

Doylestown Airport Doylestown Airport is a public airport in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, owned by the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County Airport Authority (BCAA)., effective 2009-07-02. It is two nautical miles north of Doylestown, ...

, a general aviation airport operated by the Bucks County Airport Authority, is located to the north of Doylestown., effective 2 July 2009. The nearest airports with commercial air service are the Trenton-Mercer Airport near

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Lehigh Valley International Airport Lehigh Valley International Airport (formerly Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton International Airport) is a domestic airport located in Hanover Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley International Airport is located in the center ...

near Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 25 miles (40 km) away, Philadelphia International Airport in

, approximately 30 miles (48 km) away and Newark Liberty International Airport in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.US 202 Parkway Trail following the US 202 parkway to Montgomeryville; future trail connections are planned to Peace Valley Park and other points in the area. BicyclePA Route S passes through Doylestown, following Court Street, the one-way pair of Oakland Avenue eastbound and State Street westbound, Main Street, and Green Street through the borough.

Utilities

Electricity and natural gas in Doylestown is provided by

PECO Energy Company PECO, formerly the Philadelphia Electric Company, is an energy company founded in 1881 and incorporated in 1929. It became part of Exelon Corporation in 2000 when it merged with Commonwealth Edison's holding company Unicom Corp. The company has ...

, a subsidiary of

Exelon Exelon Corporation is an American Fortune 100 energy company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and incorporated in Pennsylvania. It generates revenues of approximately $33.5 billion and employs approximately 33,400 people. Exelon is the largest ...

. The Doylestown Borough Water Department provides water to the borough and some surrounding areas. Bucks County Water and Sewer owns and operates the sewer system in Doylestown. Trash and recycling collection in Doylestown is provided by the borough's Public Works department.

Health care

Doylestown Health operates the Doylestown Hospital on West State Street serving the borough and surrounding areas in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia. The hospital was founded in 1923. Doylestown Hospital consists of 232 beds and offers an emergency room along with various inpatient and outpatient services including cancer care, a stroke center, a chest pain center, and maternity services.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Doylestown has a hot-summer,

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfa''). ''Dfa'' climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ , at least four months with an average mean temperature ≥ , at least one month with an average mean temperature ≥ and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are slightly humid in Doylestown, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with

heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is als ...

values > . Since 1981, the highest air temperature was on July 22, 2011, and the highest daily average mean

dew point The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...

was on December 8, 2016. The average wettest month is July which corresponds with the annual peak in

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

activity. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was on September 16, 1999. During the winter months, the average annual extreme minimum air temperature is . Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was on January 22, 1984. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values < . The average annual snowfall (Nov-Apr) is between and .

Ice storm An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on e ...

s and large snowstorms depositing ≥ of snow occur once every few years, particularly during

nor’easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use of ...

s from December through February.

Ecology

According to the

A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...

U.S.

potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...

types, Doylestown would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

(''104'') with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern Hardwood Forest (''25''). The

plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

is 6b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . The spring bloom typically begins by April 11 and fall color usually peaks by October 30.

Notable people

Pink at Madison Square Garden (40532526914)

Kristen Alderson Kristen DeAnn Alderson (born May 29, 1991) is an American actress and singer, best known for her 15-year portrayal of Starr Manning on the ABC daytime drama '' One Life to Live'', and for originating the role of Kiki Jerome on '' General Hospi ...

and Eddie Alderson, sibling actors * Robert C. Atherton, former magazine editor, writer, and artist * Stefan Avalos, motion picture director *

Balance and Composure Balance and Composure was an American alternative rock band from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. They formed in the winter of 2007, after the breakup of two local Doylestown bands. The band's music was often suggested having similarities to Title Fig ...

, alternative rock band * Amos W. Barber, former surgeon and second governor of Wyoming. * Christian Bauman, novelist and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

commentator *

Stan and Jan Berenstain Stanley Melvin Berenstain (September 29, 1923 – November 26, 2005) and Janice Marian Berenstain (née Grant; July 26, 1923 – February 24, 2012) were American writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book seri ...

, former authors of the ''

Berenstain Bears The ''Berenstain Bears'' is a children's literature franchise created by the late Stan and Jan Berenstain and continued by their son, Mike Berenstain, who assumed partial authorship in 2002, and full authorship in 2012 following Jan's death. ...

'' * Bill Bloom, "Double Dutch Bus" composer * Kathy Boockvar, former Pennsylvania Secretary of State *

Władysław Bortnowski Władysław Bortnowski (12 November 1891 – 21 November 1966) was a Polish historian, military commander and one of the highest ranking generals of the Polish Army. He is most famous for commanding the Pomorze Army in the Battle of Bzura during ...

, former Polish general *

Pearl S. Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, Pulitze ...

, former Nobel Prize-winning author * Clarence Buckman, politician * Alan Campbell, actor and author * Gil Cohen, aviation artist *

Caroline Doty Caroline Marie Doty (born August 15, 1989) is an American basketball player who played guard for the UConn women's basketball team. She won the 2009 NCAA National Championship, 2010 NCAA National Championship, and 2013 NCAA National Championsh ...

, guard on

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from ...

Huskies women's basketball team *

Molly Ephraim Molly Ephraim (born May 22, 1986) is an American actress who has appeared in films, television, and Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theater productions. She is best known for her role as Mandy Baxter on the ABC sitcom '' Last Man Standing' ...

, actress * William Edgar Geil, evangelist, explorer, lecturer, photographer, and author of 10 books related to his travels * David Gordon, classical tenor * Anthony Green, musician * Scott Green, NFL referee *

Justin Guarini Justin Guarini (born Justin Eldrin Bell; October 28, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter and actor who in 2002 was the runner-up on the first season of ''American Idol''. Early life Guarini was born in Columbus, Georgia. His father, Eldr ...

, ''American Idol'' runner-up * Oscar Hammerstein II, musical lyricist *

Moss Hart Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director. Early years Hart was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother ...

, playwright and director * Annie Haslam, singer, songwriter, artist * Samantha Hoopes, model * Charles T. Horner Jr., U.S. Army officer * Edward L. Howard, politician * Joe Judge, New York Giants head coach * George S. Kaufman, pioneering figure in American musical theater *

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...

, anthropologist * Henry Chapman Mercer, archaeologist * Natalie Mering, musician professionally known as Weyes Blood * James A. Michener, author *

Irene Molloy Irene Molloy is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for her roles on television series ''Andy Richter Controls the Universe'' and ''Grosse Pointe''. She has also appeared in Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals, televisi ...

, singer/actress *

Anthony Morelli Anthony Michael Morelli (born June 21, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Penn State. Morelli was a member of the San Jose S ...

, blogger *

Jeff Musselman Jeffrey Joseph Musselman (born June 21, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets from 1986 to 1990. Career Musselman graduated from Central Regional High School in Bayville, New ...

, former MLB pitcher *

Kevin Nalty Kevin 'Nalts' Nalty (born May 12, 1969 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American Internet personality and marketer better known under his YouTube username Nalts. Nalts began on YouTube as one of the top-20 most-viewed comedy channels, and collab ...

, YouTube personality *

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

, author *

S. J. Perelman Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979) was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for ''The New Yorker''. He also wrote for several other magazines ...

, humorist *

Mike Pettine Michael Mark Pettine (born September 25, 1966) is an American football coach who currently is an assistant head coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2014 to 2015, an ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

head coach *

P!nk Alecia Beth Moore Hart (born September 8, 1979), known professionally as Pink (stylized as P!nk), is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She was originally a member of the girl group Choice. In 1995, LaFace Records saw potential ...

, singer * Mike Senica, race car driver * Charles Sheeler, artist * Sinch, rock band *

Michael Smerconish Michael Andrew Smerconish ( ; born March 15, 1962) is an American radio host and television presenter, political commentator, newspaper columnist, author, and lawyer. He broadcasts ''The Michael Smerconish Program'' weekdays at 9:00 a.m. ET ...

, radio and TV host *

Dodie Smith Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith (3 May 1896 – 24 November 1990) was an English novelist and playwright. She is best known for writing ''I Capture the Castle'' (1948) and the children's novel '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956). Other works ...

, author * Stephen Sondheim, composer *

Timothy Stack Timothy Clifton Stack (born November 21, 1954) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Education Timothy was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the son of Joan and Tom Stack. He graduated from the Philadelphia-area prep ...

, actor * Stephen Susco, motion picture screenwriter * Dave Taber, retired soccer player *

Jean Toomer Jean Toomer (born Nathan Pinchback Toomer; December 26, 1894 – March 30, 1967) was an American poet and novelist commonly associated with the Harlem Renaissance, though he actively resisted the association, and with modernism. His reputatio ...

, author * Jon Van Dine, drummer of indie-pop band

CRUISR CRUISR (pronounced cruiser) is an American indie pop band based in Philadelphia. They are signed to Vagrant Records. The line-up consists of Andy States (Vocals, Guitar), Jon Van Dine (Drums), and Bruno Catrambone (Guitar). Background CRUISR ...

* Jeremy Kipp Walker, film producer * John Hosea Washburn, college president * Foster Winans, journalist, convicted of insider trading * Matt Wisniewski, artist

In popular culture

Doyletown has been mentioned many times in contemporary popular culture, including: *The plot of the ongoing HBO series '' The Gilded Age'', which premiered in 2022, revolves around two separate Doylestown families who relocate to

in the late 1800s. *In 2009, the movie ''Revenge of the Don'', which premiered at the British Film Festival, was filmed in Doylestown. Its plot involves a horrible joke gone wrong. *The 2002

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

documentary ''The Last Game'', tells the story of

Central Bucks High School West Central Bucks High School - West, often shortened to CB West, is a public high school housing students in grades ten through twelve. It is located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and is part of the Central Bucks School District. During the 2020-202 ...

's football team and its long-standing coach Mike Pettine as the team seeks to defend its 30-game winning streak against major eastern Pennsylvania high school football powerhouses in Pettine's final season before retirement. The documentary is highly acclaimed with the first sentence of ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' review of it reading: "This may be one the best sports documentaries ever made." *In 2002, Doylestown was the location for most of M. Night Shyamalan's film '' Signs''. *In 2002, Doylestown also is a central part of the plot in " Carbon Creek", the September 25, 2002, episode of ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...

''. *In 1809, H. Beam Piper mentions Doylestown in his science fiction short story, " He Walked Around the Horses", in which British diplomat Benjamin Bathurst is sent to a parallel universe in which the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

was a failure. Beneath the plot's surface is the fact that Rathurst really did mysteriously disappear in 1809 in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

References

External links

Borough of Doylestown
{{authority control County seats in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1745 Boroughs in Bucks County, Pennsylvania 1838 establishments in Pennsylvania 1745 establishments in Pennsylvania