Call Number:

01

Repository:

Historic Carversville Society

Extent:

2.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

circa 2006-2013

Creator:

Historic Carversville Society

Abstract:

A prime example of a 19th-century farming community, Carversville in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was one of the first districts to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Historic Carversville Society house histories, circa 2006-2013, consist primarily of research compiled by the Heritage Conservancy for properties located within the Carversville Historic District. The histories, organized by address, are bound reports that include narrative descriptions, contemporary photographic print-outs, and copies of historic primary source documents.

"The rural village of Carversville [Bucks County, Pennsylvania] was a Lenni Lenape gathering place which they called Aquetong, or "many springs", over 300 years ago when William Penn granted tracts to his steward, James Harrison, and to Joseph Pike. Harrison, who never saw the property, deeded his 500 acres to Randall Blackshaw and the Pike tract was divided into four 100-acre parcels.

"The village was first surveyed in 1702 after families had begun arriving on horseback. By 1730 roads had been cut into the forests so settlers could haul out wool and farm produce and bring in lumber that was being rafted down the Delaware River from Upper Pennsylvania.

"Originally called Indian Village, the town was later named Mill Town, later Milton and finally, in 1833, Carversville. The latter name was borrowed from the postmaster whose last name was Carver.

"A center of commerce from its inception, Carversville boasted such diverse enterprises as Stovers Mill, the Fretz Mill, the Carver Mill, the Suggin Bag manufactory, a sash and blind mill and the famous Roram Hat factory.

"In 1859 the Excelsior Normal Institute was founded on the hill overlooking the Village. The five-story stone building became a well-known school which turned out scholars until it fell on hard times in the late 19th century. Until its demise, students could peer down at the thriving village served by stagecoaches from the railroads at Doylestown and nearby Bull's Island, N.J., just three miles away. When the teaching ended, the pleasure began as the building became a resort. Its lifespan , too, was short-lived. The final use for the property was as the Carversville Christian Orphanage. The building was razed in the mid 1900s, but its legacy is intact thanks to the research of it's [late] tenant, Edwin "Ned" Harrington, the Village's official historian.

"The Presbyterian Church, founded in 1872 has disbanded; the building is now a private home. The older Christian Church (1838) still serves the spiritual and social needs of many of the villagers...

"Carversville is a prime example of a 19th Century farming community and this earned it National Register of Historic Places status from the Department of Interior in 1979. Officially, the Village became "historic." Carversville was one of the first districts to be so honored and it is now under the protection of federal, state and local laws that regulate changes made to any building which may destroy its historic value."

Bibliography:

Quoted text from "History." Accessed April 16, 2013. http://www.carversville.com/history/index.html

This collection consists of house histories for properties located within the Carversville Historic District. Most of the histories were compiled by the Heritage Conservancy. One or more were researched by independent historic preservation consultants. The histories, organized by address, are bound reports that include narrative descriptions, contemporary photographic print-outs, and copies of historic primary source documents.

Also available at Historic Carversville Society are descriptions of structures in Carversville generated during a historic site survey of the district, circa 1979. These descriptions are compiled in a binder labeled "Carversville Historic District Narrative Description of Structures." The properties are organized by road (following a progression from the beginning point of the Historic District in a clockwise manner along one side of a road to the edge of the historic district, then across and back the other side). Included are short descriptions of homes, built dates, and mostly contemporary photographs as well as some older photographs.