Quakertown Historical Society collection of ledgers and deeds

"Quakertown, Pennsylvania is a town of approximately 9000 residents in the Northeast portion of Upper Bucks County, about 50 miles north of Philadelphia. The Borough encompasses approximately two square miles and has over 21 miles of roads.

"The settlement of the "Great Swamp" as members of the Society of Friends originally knew it, began in the early years of the eighteenth century. Great Swamp, also referred to as Richland Centre, was in the middle of Richland Township and at the juncture of roads leading to Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, Pottstown, and Newtown. During our country's fight for independence, the Liberty Bell was concealed here, behind what is now known as Liberty Hall, on its way to be hidden in Allentown.

"In 1801, the settlement officially became known as Quakertown and the first post office bearing its name was established in 1803.

"As a crossroad village with a tavern, it soon became a stopover for stagecoaches and commercial traffic between Allentown and Philadelphia. Although it was the core of an extensive community of Welsh and German farmers, the village center remained quite small until the mid-nineteenth century. In 1820, Quakertown contained approximately twelve dwellings.

"Although the Borough of Quakertown was not "affirmed" until February of 1855, the first Burgess, (elected official) was elected in 1854. At that time, the village contained only sixty-two dwellings. The construction of the North Pennsylvania Railroad in 1855 gave a great impetus to growth in the area. By 1880, the population of Quakertown was nearly 1,800.

"The combination of the railroad and national economic expansion following the Civil War changed Quakertown from a tiny village to a bustling commercial center. Local industry included the manufacture of cigars, boots, shoes, tools, harnesses, wheel spokes, and stoves.

"Quakertown generated its own electrical power until 1969. Although the power plant was abandoned, Quakertown kept control of the distribution lines within the Borough and began to buy power at a bulk rate and resell it. In addition to maintaining the electric system, Quakertown operates [its] own water and sewer systems. This tradition of enterprise and hard work has been carried on down through the years to present-day Quakertown."

Bibliography:

Quoted text from: Quakertown, Pa. "History." Accessed May 24, 2013. http://www.quakertownboro.com/index.aspx?page=40

This collection consists of various ledgers from different creators collected by the Quakertown Historical Society. It seems likely that the majority are Quakertown Borough records, mostly daybooks and account books, 1893-1958, although these volumes are not clearly identified. There are also Quakertown Borough, 4th Ward Assessment Rolls, 1952-1954, 1956, 1958. Other volumes include: Powelton Cut Glass Company minute book, 1917-1953; Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society, Camp #489 (Quakertown, Pa.) minute books and financial ledgers, 1918-1991; and several unidentified volumes.

This collection also includes deeds from the local area, 1767-circa 1900.

Ledgers and deeds collected from various sources at various times by the Quakertown Historical Society.

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.

In some cases, more detailed inventories or finding aids may be available on-site at the repository where this collection is held; please contact Quakertown Historical Society directly for more information.

Publisher

Quakertown Historical Society

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.

Finding aids 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

Creator

Quakertown Historical Society

Subject

Assessment

Boroughs

Business enterprises

Fraternal organizations

Local government

Local history

Taxation

Organization

Quakertown (Pa.)

Woodmen of the World

Place

Bucks County (Pa.)

Quakertown (Pa.)

Language

English