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Newtown Historic Association photograph collection
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Held at: Newtown Historic Association [Contact Us]Centre Avenue and Court Street, Newtown, Pennsylvania
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Newtown Historic Association. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Newtown traces its roots back to William Penn, who purchased 5,000 acres (20 km2) from the Lenni Lenape Indians in 1683. Situated where the Neshaminy River and the Newtown Creek meet, Penn named this land my "New Town," which gradually evolved to Newtown.
According to tradition, Penn had his surveyor Thomas Holme lay out Newtown in a fan shape of 16 tracts radiating out from a central square or common. Each land owner received a town lot of 20 to 50 acres that bordered on the common and a much larger country lot that ran from the town lot to the edge of the township. Newtown developed and prospered as an agricultural, industrial and trade center. Excellent examples of most styles of architecture can be seen in its buildings and structures.
Newtown served as the County Seat of Bucks County from 1726 until 1813, when the Court was moved to Doylestown. In 1838, the area comprising the commercial center, plus a number of homes, was incorporated into Newtown Borough. The Borough was enlarged four times since 1838 and now includes 640 acres.
Today, Newtown Township surrounds Newtown Borough and each has its own form of government. Newtown Borough is governed by a Mayor and a six member Borough Council, who are elected to serve four year terms. Newtown Township is governed by a five member Board of Supervisors; members are elected to serve 6 year terms.
An historic district was first established in 1969. In 1985, the Historic District was enlarged and added to the National Register of Historic Places. Today, Newtown still retains the much of its historic character.
Bibliography:
Borough of Newtown. "History." Accessed January 29, 2013. http://www.boroughofnewtown.com/History/.
Mayer, Thomas. A History of Land Ownership Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania 1683-1850. Bedminster, PA: Adams Apple Press, 1999.
Newtown Township. “History” Accessed October 10, 2013. http://www.twp.newtown.pa.us/history.htm
The collection includes approximately 15,000 original photographs organized by subject. Some of the subjects documented include agriculture, events, parks, people, streets, organizations, schools, and businesses. Large-format photographs, panoramas, tintypes, and glass plate negatives are stored separately, and are organized by format. An item-level inventory is available in a database on-site.
Partial inventories of subjects and individuals and families included in the photograph collection are listed below:
Subjects: A&P AW &MW Watson Lumber Yard Abbie Rice House Acme Agway American Legion Arbor Day Balderston Farm Bird-in-Hand Brick Hotel Bridgetown Mill Bucks County Bankers Association Bucks County Community College Bunting House Burns Hardware Store Chancellor Street Cologne Mill Congress Street Cornell Place Cornwall House Council Rock Concert Association Council Rock Youth & Community Center Council Rock School District County Court House County Seat Court Inn D. Russell Bond Brothers Doan Brothers Dolington Eagle Road Eastburn & Gray Ed Grace Cigar Store Edgemont Ellenger, Photographer E. J. Worthington Dry Goods Everitt House Excelsior Bobbin and Spool Company Fairview Farm Fenton Square Finley House Firman House First Baptist Church First National Bank & Trust Company of Newtown Floods Foley House Fountain Farm Fourth of July Celebration Friends Boarding Home Friends Meeting House Friends Village Frost Lane Frost Watson Lumber Yard Fuhrer Family Gaine & Murfit Chevrolet Garden Tour General Francis Murray House George School German's Cut Gilkyson's Sawmill Godwin Building Golden Acres Goldenrod Goodnoe Farms Dairy Goodnoe Restaurant Green Parrot Inn Greene Street Greenlee Service Station Greenwood H. Griffin Miller Store H. S. Roberts Nursery Haines Family Half Moon Inn Hanging Lamp Antiques Harris House Hart House Harvey Farm Heather Court Hennessey BuildingHenry M. Pownall, Dealer in Harnesses Henry VanHorn, Carpenter Heston House Hibbs Hardware Hicks House Hidden Valley Farm Hillborn House Hillborn Nurseries Hogeland House Hoover's Pharmacy Horace A. Effrig's Store Huber Brothers Gas Station Hugh B. Eastburn, Realtor Hurricane Diane Hutchinson House Ivory Hall J. J. Burns Hardware Store J. R. Ellinger, Photographer J. Wilson Croasdale Dry Goods Store Jack's Pioneer Market Janney Plantation Jean Pierre's Restaurant Jefferson Street Jefferson Street Bridge Jenks Homestead Jones' Ice Cream Store Justice House Keller Building Keller's Barber Shop King Family Kirk Farm Knights of Pythias LaRue Apartments Lasky House Lavalle Aircraft Company Lavender Hall Leedom Farm Lefferts House Liberty Street Light House Hill Cemetery Lincoln Avenue Lindenhurst Road Linton Hill Farm Linton Hill Road Longshore House Lovett Farm Lower Dolington Road Lower House Lownes Chrysler & Mack Truck Dealer Lownes Farm Luff House Lundy & Shinn, Stoves & Ranges Lundy House Luscombe Airplane Corporation Macedonia Baptist Church Madryn Mardot Village Marie's Colonial Kitchen Mark Granite's General Store Market Day Martin Keron's Fine Boots & Shoes Martindale Farm Masonic Lodge Mawson Brothers McCart's Cigar Store McDermott House McGowan & Heurscher Wagon SHop McKean, Photographer McKinley-Hobart Club McMaster's House Memorial Day Parade Mercer Street Merrick Insurance Company Michelin House Middle Store, Stapler & Carver Milnor House Monroe Morrell Antiques Morrell Smith Post #440 Moyer Grove Mudcats Murray House Musser's Drug Store Nagel's Drug Store Ned's Cigar Store Neshaminy Creek Neshaminy Valley Youth Center Newell House Newtown Academy and Free School Newtown Agricultural Works Newtown Bank and Trust Company Newtown Baseball Team Newtown Borough Council Newtown Borough Hall Newtown Businessmen's Association Newtown Cemetery Association Newtown China Company Newtown Common Lots Newtown Cooperative Newtown Creek Newtown Crossing Newtown Electric Street Railway Newtown Enterprise Newtown Exchange Club Newtown Fire Association Newtown Friends Meeting Newtown Friends Home Newtown Grant Newtown Hall Newtown Hardware House Newtown High School Newtown Historic Association Newtown Jewelers Newtown Joint Historic Commission Newtown Library Company Newtown Methodist Episcopal Church Newtown New Century Club Newtown Place Newtown Plaza Newtown Post Office Newtown Presbyterian Church Newtown Producing Company Newtown Railroad Newtown Reliance Company Newtown Rotary Club Newtown Savings & Loan Association Newtown Title & Trust Company Newtown Township Newtown Trolley Company North State Street Octagonal School House Old Washy Oldfields Open House Tour Ottersfield Pancake Day Paxson Memorial Home Peaceable Kingdom Pearson Farm Penn Street Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company Phillips Court Pickering Field Pickering Manor Home Pickering, Courts & Summerson Pidcock Blacksmith Shop Pownall House Price Farm Pumpkin Contest Quakers Radford House Raguet Store Randall Carriage Company Randall Photography Studio Raven's Day Rempfer House Renninger House Revolutionary War Rhodes Flower & Gift Shop Richardson House Aaron Ridge House Robert's Tin Shop Robert's Farm Ryan's Corner Savidge Brothers Store Schofield Ford Bridge Schofield House Schorch's Bakery Sculley Hill House Sedia Park Shakespeare Club Skeer House Smith & Emby Heaters & Stoves South State Street Spring Garden Mill Steacker House St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church St. Luke's Episcopal Church St. Mark's AME Zion Church Steif, Waite, Grosse, Sagoskin & Gilman Stenton Sterling Street Stockberger Chevrolet Stocking Works Stoopville Road Stuckert Building Sunderland Blacksmith Shop Sunset Oak Swamp Road Sweet Land Sycamore Street T. H. Wynkoop Post #427 GAR Temora Farms Temperance House Thomas B. Linton Memorial Fountain Thomas Twining Farm Thornton House Time Capsule Toll House Torbert Dairy Township House Restaurant Township House Store Tricentennial Triumph Building Twining Ford Bridge Twining Farm Tyler Estate Tyler Park U.S. Bobbin & Shuttle Company Veterans Veterans Plaza Village at Newtown Village Smith Antiques Walker Burns Farm Warner & McGowan Wagon Works Washington Avenue Washington's Headquarters Watson's Sash & Blind Factory Weaver House Welcome Day White Hall Hotel William W. Fabian & Sons Willow Grove Park Willow Hill Winn House Wisteria House Women's Christian Temperance Union World War I World War II Worstall House Worthington Mill Wright's Road Yates House Ye Old Bakery Delicatessen
Individuals and families: Adams Afflerbach Afflerbach, Henry Ahlum Alcorn, Ruth Anderson Anderson, James Applebaum Arnwine Armsworthy, Camilla Atrkinson Ayers Bachman Bachman, Vance Baily Baker Balderston Balderston Ann Balderston, George Balderston, Lester Balderston, Jolly Balderston, May Balderston, William Barash, Theodore Barnes Barnsley Barnsley, Edward C. Barnsley, J. Herman Barnsley, Joseph Barnsley, Ruth Barnsley, William Barone Bartels, Ann Bartels, Robert Bassett, Raymond Bateman, Edward Beans Beans, Esther Beans, Ethel Beans, Leonardo Beans, Samuel Beatty Beatty, Reading Beatty, Naomi Beck, Kenneth Bellmyer Bennett Bennett Binkley Bohmler Bond Bond, Amos Bond, D. Russell Briggs Brown Brown, Dorothy Brown, Leland Brown, Stacy B. Buckman Burns Burton Bye Byelich Caffey Cahill Callahan Campbell Carson Carver Cassar Chamberlain Chamberlain, James B. Chambers Chesner Chesner, Peter Church Church, Eleazer Clark Cornell Crewitt Dafter Dallas Dineen Donovan Duckworth Dunlevy Eagle Eby Eckard Effrig Ermentrout Erwin Ettenger Eyre Fabian Fabian, Frank Fenton Finley Finney Fitzgerald Flagg Fuhrer Gallagher Gish Godwin Goodnoe Gordon Gourley Grace Gray Gray, Samuel Gumpper Halderman Hampton Harding Hart Hart, George Heacock Hennessy Hillborn Hofmeister Hoover Hoover, Richard Hutchinson Hutchinson, William Ingram, Mercy Janney Jefferson Jenks Jenks, Phineas Dr. Jenks, Michael Johnson Jones Kassay Keehn Keith Keller Keller, Clayton Kenderdine Kenderdine, Robert Kenderdine, Thaddeus King Krewson Krusen Leedom Lovett Lownes Maher Maher, Edward Mahler Mast Mawson Mayer McKenney McMaster Merrick Merrick, John Milnor Morrell Morris Mulhern Nardo Neeld Noel Nolan Ogleby Ott Ott, Howard Otto Otto, George Packer Paff Patterson Pearson Pentz Peterson Phillips Pickering Powell Pownall Pownall, Henry Pugh Pyle Radford Radford, John Randall Randall, J.V. Randall, Meta Randle, Helen Real Reeder Reeder, Ada Rempfer Rice Ridge Ridge, Aaron Robert Roberts, W. A. Dr. Roberts, Charles Dr. Rook Satterthwaite Savidge Savidge, Clarence Savidge, Morris Schneck Schofield Schorsch Scott Search Sherman Shields Shuster Skeer Slack Smith Smith, Charles Smith, Harold Stapler Steacker, Clayton Stradling Strathie Stuckert Stuckert, Homer Stuckert, William Stuckert, Maud Swayne, Norman Szwajkos, Robert Talley Taylor Terry Teschner Trexler Thomas Thompson Thornton Titus Titus, Brian Tomlinson Tranter Trego Twining Umstead Urban Urban, Charles Valanti VanArsdahlen VanArtsdahlen Vandergrift VanHorn Voorhees Wall Walton Ward Warner Watson Watts Weasner Weaver Westgate White Wiley Williams Worstall Wright Yamamoto Yardley Yates Yerkes Zagorski
Photographs collected by Newtown Historic Association over time.
Summary descriptive information on this collection was compiled in 2012-2014 as part of a project conducted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to make better known and more accessible the largely hidden collections of small, primarily volunteer run repositories in the Philadelphia area. The Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories (HCI-PSAR) was funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
This is a preliminary finding aid. No physical processing, rehousing, reorganizing, or folder listing was accomplished during the HCI-PSAR project.
Detailed, computerized inventories of all of the items in this collection are available on site at the repository where this collection is held; please contact Newtown Historic Association directly for more information.
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- Newtown Historic Association
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Faith Charlton through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories
- Sponsor
- This preliminary finding aid was created as part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. The HCI-PSAR project was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Access Restrictions
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Contact Newtown Historic Association for information about accessing this collection.