Upper Bucks History
From Great Swamp
to Great County
It started as a home for religious and political outcasts and ended up one of the most progressive areas in the colonial United States. When William Penn founded the state of Pennsylvania in 1682, he divided it into three counties, one of which was named Bucks County after his home county of Buckinghamshire, England. The area now known as Upper Bucks County was predominantly populated by English and Welsh Quakers, who called Quakertown and Richland Township home, and German Protestants, who mainly settled in Milford Township. Thanks to Penn’s Frame of Government, which included fair trails and freedom of religion for all who believed in God, persecuted believers of all stripes flocked to Pennsylvania and Bucks County. The rich wetlands referred to by the region’s Native Americans as “The Great Swamp” proved perfect for crop cultivation, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania thrived.
Upper Bucks had some important roles to play during the Revolutionary War. Durham Furnace produced ammunition and military supplies. Richland Township was briefly a hiding spot for the Liberty Bell, which was secreted away so that the British would not melt it down for bullets. Most recognizably, General George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River occurred at McConkey’s Ferry on Christmas Night, 1776. This gutsy sneak attack changed the course of the war, and of history itself.
The area’s economic growth really took off with the development of the North Pennsylvania Railroad in 1857. After the Civil War, Upper Bucks became a booming agricultural market for citizens of nearby Philadelphia, as well as a manufacturer of everything from boots to pipe organs. Today, Upper Bucks County continues to promote industrial and agricultural growth while simultaneously maintaining its history and natural resources. Many Upper Bucks businesses house themselves in historic buildings, including Mirror Image Family Hair Studio and the firm of Riley, Rodzianko & Clymer in Quakertown. This mix of modernity and tradition allows Upper Bucks County to blend the perspective of the past with the resources of the present.
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