Repository: Doylestown Historical Society / Language: English - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 48.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The area now known as Doylestown (Bucks County, Pennsylvania) was given to Edward Doyle as a land grant from William Penn in 1692. Doylestown became the county seat of Bucks County in 1812, and the area flourished when a railroad line was completed between Doylestown and Philadelphia in 1856. Doylestown's historic downtown began to deteriorate in the early 1960s, but the town was revitalized in part due to an architectural preservation movement. The Doylestown Historical Society local real estate collection, circa 1955-2013, contains mostly secondary-source materials--such as real estate listings, narrative house histories, photocopies of original documents with some original photographs--organized alphabetically by street address.

Held at: Doylestown Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 32.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The area now known as Doylestown (Bucks County, Pennsylvania) was given to Edward Doyle as a land grant from William Penn in 1692. Doylestown became the county seat of Bucks County in 1812, and the area flourished when a railroad line was completed between Doylestown and Philadelphia in 1856. Doylestown's historic downtown began to deteriorate in the early 1960s, but the town was revitalized in part due to an architectural preservation movement. The Doylestown Historical Society subject files, 1880-2013, are organized into the following series: I. Local history; II. Businesses; III. Biographies; and IV. Locations. It consists mostly of newspaper clippings and other secondary-source materials, with some primary-source documents such as ephemera, newsletters, pamphlets, photographs, invoices, deeds, advertisements, and some business records.

Held at: Doylestown Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 46.0 linear feet
Abstract:: Often referred to as "America's Forgotten Explorer," William Edgar Geil (1865-1925) was an evangelical missionary and international explorer from Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania who was most likely the first individual to travel the entire Great Wall of China (in 1908). He was a sought-after lecturer and orator; authored 10 books, including his best-selling travelogue The Great Wall of China (Sturgis & Walton Company, 1909); and was an accomplished photographer whose work documented vanishing cultures. The William Edgar Geil papers, 1886-2013 (bulk 1900-1910), include nearly 2,000 photographs; book preparation materials covering all phases of the editorial process; diaries and field notes; personal correspondence; newspaper clippings; and artwork. The collection documents William E. Geil's extensive travels, his work as an evangelist and missionary, and his family.

Held at: Doylestown Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 3.75 linear feet
Abstract:: Wilma B. Rezer (1915-1993) was an amateur historian who focused on property research and local history for her hometown of Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The Wilma B. Rezer local history research, 1865-2010 (bulk 1970-1990), includes a series of files for years she researched (1804-1966) and a series of her writings on Doylestown history. Her best-known history, completed for the Bucks County tercentennial in 1982, is Doylestown: And How It Came to Be, 1724-1980," of which there are several copies in this collection.

Held at: Doylestown Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 1.5 linear feet
Abstract:: A member of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association (organized in 1895), Group Two, the Bucks County Bankers Association was organized in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 1924. It existed at least as late as 2010. The Bucks County Bankers Association records, 1924-1963 (bulk 1946-1963), include correspondence, analyses, meeting minutes, lists of past presidents and officers, clippings, annual meeting programs, and pamphlets.

Held at: Doylestown Historical Society [Contact Us]

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