'Bucks County' is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
Pennsylvania. As of 2000, the population was 597,635. A
2004 U.S. Census estimate placed the population at 621,342, making it the fourth most populous county in Pennsylvania, after
Philadelphia County,
Allegheny County, and
Montgomery County. The
county seat is
Doylestown6. The suburban county is one of the five core counties in Pennsylvania that make up the
Delaware Valley, or Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area.
History
Founding
Bucks County was one of the three original counties in Pennsylvania. It was named by
William Penn in 1682 after
Buckinghamshire,
England, the county where he lived and his family originated from. Bucks is the abbreviation for Buckinghamshire, and both names are used interchangeably in England. Penn's home,
Pennsbury Manor, is located within Bucks County.
Place names in Bucks County derived from places in Buckinghamshire include Buckingham, Chalfont (named after
Chalfont St Giles),
Wycombe and Solebury (spelled
Soulbury in England).
Buckingham was the former
county town of Buckinghamshire; Buckingham, PA, was the county seat of Bucks County from 1705-1726.
Chalfont St. Giles in Buckinghamshire was the parish home of William Penn's first wife, and the location of the Jordans Quaker Meeting House, where Penn is buried.
Revolutionary War
In December 1776, Bucks County became the setting for Gen.
George Washington and his troops as they prepared to cross the
Delaware and storm
Trenton, New Jersey on Christmas Day. The attack caught the
Hessian army by surprise and would represent a turning point in the
American War of Independence. The town of
Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania and
Washington Crossing Historic Park were named to commemorate the event.
Law and Government
The executive government is run by a three-seat Board of Commissioners, one member of which serves as chairperson. Commissioners are elected through
at-large voting and serve four-year terms. In cases of vacancy, a panel of county judges appoints members to fill seats.
The current commissioners are James F. Cawley (R) (Chairman), Charles H. Martin (R) and Sandra A. Miller (D). The current terms expire at the end of 2007.
Geography
Bucks County lies in the southeastern edge of the state along the
Delaware River. Most of the land is typical of the
piedmont region, with hills becoming more distinct further north. Unlike in the Southern Piedmont, soil in the Pennsylvania Piedmont has historically been fertile, giving Bucks County large areas of valuable farmland. With the decline of the farming industry, debate has arisen over how much of this
open space should be preserved, and how much should be allotted for commercial and residential development.
The southern third of the county between
Philadelphia and
Trenton, New Jersey, often called Lower Bucks, resides in the
Atlantic Coastal Plain, and is flat and near sea level, and the county's most populated and industrialized area.
The county shares most of its western border with
Montgomery County, and also borders Philadelphia to the southwest, and
Northampton and
Lehigh Counties to the north. From north to south, it is linked to
Warren,
Hunterdon,
Mercer and
Burlington Counties in
New Jersey by bridges.
Tohickon Creek and
Neshaminy Creek are the largest
tributaries of the
Delaware in Bucks County. Tohickon Creek empties into the river at Point Pleasant and Neshaminy at Bristol.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,611
km² (622
mi²). 1,573 km² (607 mi²) of it is land and 38 km² (15 mi²) of it (2.37%) is water.
Adjacent counties
★
Lehigh County (northwest)
★
Northampton County (north)
★
Warren County, New Jersey (northeast)
★
Hunterdon County, New Jersey (east)
★
Mercer County, New Jersey (east)
★
Burlington County, New Jersey (south)
★
Philadelphia County (southwest)
★
Montgomery County (west)
Industry and commerce
Levittown, aerial view, circa 1959
The boroughs of
Bristol and
Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the
Northeast Corridor during
World War II.
Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of
Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such
Levittown designed by
William Levitt.
Among Bucks' largest employers in the Twentieth Century were
U.S. Steel in
Falls Township, and the Vulcanized Rubber & Plastics and Robertson Tile companies in Morrisville.
Rohm and Haas continues to operate several chemical plants around Bristol.
Waste Management operates a
landfill in
Tullytown that is largely the receptacle of out-of-state waste in the USA (receiving nearly all of New York City's waste following the closure of Fresh Kills landfill in
Staten Island, NY 40-miles away).
This industry, however, belies another important asset of the county: tourism. The county's northern regions are renowned for their natural scenery, farmland, colonial history, and proximity to major urban areas. Popular attractions in Bucks County include the shops and studios of
New Hope,
Peddler's Village,
Washington Crossing Historic Park, and Bucks County River Country. Southern Bucks is home to two important shopping centers,
Neshaminy Mall and
Oxford Valley Mall, and
Sesame Place, a family
theme park based on the
Sesame Street television series.
Local publications include
Bucks County Courier Times[1], ''Bucks County Town and Country Living'', ''LifeStyle Magazine'', ''Nouveau'', and ''BUCKS Magazine''.
Population growth
Growth began in the early nineteen fifties, when
William Levitt chose Bucks County for his second Levittown. Levitt bought hundreds of acres of woodlands and farmland, and constructed 17,000 homes and dozens of schools, parks, libraries, and shopping centers. At this time the population of Levittown swelled to almost 74,000 residents when the project ended. At the time only people who were white could buy a home. This rule however, was soon overturned. Other planned developments included
Croydon and
Fairless Hills. This rapid sprawl continued till the mid-sixties.
In the 1970s, the second growth spurt began. This time developers took land in townships that were for the most part untouched. These included
Middletown,
Lower Makefield Township, and
Newtown Township.
Tract housing continued to move more and more towards Upper Bucks, swallowing horse farms, sprawling forests, and wetlands. At this time the
Oxford Valley Mall was constructed in Middletown, which would become the business nucleus of the county.
Growth has somewhat stabilized since 1990, with smaller increases and less development. However, the main reason for this is not emigration, but loss of land. Bucks County now lacks large parcels of land to develop. Smaller residential and commercial developments are constructed now. However redevelopment is a leading coalition in Bucks County. Many areas along the
Delaware River have surpluses of abandoned industry. Many municipalities have granted building rights to many luxury housing developers. Also with rising property values, areas with older buildings are beginning to have a "rebirth".
Upper Bucks is still seeing rapid growth with many municipalities doubling their populations. However, Bucks County's open space project has saved thousands of acres of forests and farms.
Arts and culture
Fine and performing arts
Many artists and writers based in
New York City have called Bucks County home, settling mainly in the small stretch between Doylestown and
New Hope and along the
Delaware River. Notable residents have included
Margaret Mead,
Pearl S. Buck,
Oscar Hammerstein, II,
Stephen Sondheim,
Moss Hart,
James Michener,
Dorothy Parker,
S. J. Perelman,
Stan and Jan Berenstain, and
Jean Toomer. Bucks County is the home of writer/musician
James McBride, painter Christopher Wajda and was also home to furniture designer
George Nakashima.
James Gould Cozzens lived in
Lambertville, New Jersey, just across the river from Bucks County, used
Doylestown as the model for the setting of two novels, and is considered a Bucks County artist.
The county boasts many local
theater companies, the most famous of which is the
Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope.
The
Wild River Review, an online magazine that publishes in-depth reporting, works of literature, art, visual art, reviews, interviews, and columns by and about contemporary artists, photographers, and writers, is based out of Doylestown.
Popular culture
Alecia Moore, more commonly known as
Pink, was born in Doylestown as was motion picture writer and director,
Stefan Avalos. Producer
Samik resides in Bucks County, as do two ''
American Idol'' contestants:
Justin Guarini, who was born in Atlanta, but moved to Bucks County; and
Anthony Fedorov, who was born in Ukraine and was from
Trevose, in
Lower Southampton Township.
Film
M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 film ''
Signs'', starring
Mel Gibson, was filmed and takes place in Bucks County. The town scenes, in particular, were filmed on State Street in
Newtown Borough, the drugstore scene was filmed at Burns' Pharmacy on Pennsylvania Avenue in
Morrisville. The house was built on the grounds of
Delaware Valley College campus in
Doylestown Township, Pennsylvania. A stage set for some interior shots was created in a warehouse on State Road in
Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania. Shyamalan's film, ''
Lady in the Water'', was shot in the
Levittown section of
Bristol Township. With the exception of the Pine Barrens footage, all of ''
The Last Broadcast'' was shot in Bucks County (though the name was changed). Also, a short scene from
Stephen King's
The Stand is based in
Pipersville.
Sports and recreation
Football
★
Tennessee Titans free safety Bryan Scott is a Bucks County native. He attended Central Bucks East High School.
★ Former
Philadelphia Eagles and
Miami Dolphins star
Troy Vincent resides in
Lower Makefield and attended Pennsbury High School.
Little League
The county has a considerable history of producing
Little League baseball contenders. Since its inception in 1947, four of the seven Pennsylvania teams to compete in the
Little League World Series in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania have come from Bucks County:
Morrisville (1955),
Levittown American (1960 and 1961), and
Council Rock-Newtown (2005). Two of these squads, Morrisville and Levittown (1960), went on to win the World Series title.
Horse racing
★
Philadelphia Park Racetrack, formerly the home of
Triple Crown contender
Smarty Jones, is in
Bensalem.
Pennsylvania State Parks
There are 5
Pennsylvania state parks in Bucks County.
★
Delaware Canal State Park
★
Neshaminy State Park
★
Nockamixon State Park
★
Ralph Stover State Park
★
Tyler State Park
Politics
'Presidential elections results'| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|
| 2004 | 46.4% ''154,469 | '53.0%' ''163,438 |
| 2000 | 46.3% ''121,927 | '50.5%' ''132,914 |
| 1996 | 41.8% ''94,899 | '45.5%' ''103,313 |
| 1992 | 38.1% ''94,584 | '39.4%' ''97,902 |
| 1988 | '60.0%' ''127,563 | 38.8% ''82,472 |
| 1984 | '63.3%' ''130,119 | 36.2% ''74,568 |
| 1980 | '55.5%' ''100,536 | 32.6% ''59,120 |
| 1976 | '50.7%' ''85,628 | 47.3% ''79,838 |
| 1972 | '62.3%' ''99,684 | 35.5% ''56,784 |
| 1968 | '48.6%' ''69,646 | 40.2% ''57,634 |
| 1964 | 38.9% ''50,243 | '60.6%' ''78,287 |
| 1960 | '54.0%' ''67,501 | 45.7% ''57,177 |
As of November 2006, there are 413,098 registered voters in Bucks County
[2].
★
Democratic: 163,158 (39.50%)
★
Republican: 186,781 (45.21%)
★ Other Parties: 63,159 (15.29%)
Like Pennsylvania at large, Bucks County is regarded as a
swing vote in major elections.
Bucks County was once a safeguard for the
Republican Party, and although politically the county has diversified, Republicans still control most of the offices at local levels of government. County Republicans tend to hold moderate positions on environmental and social issues while advocating fiscal restraint. While the GOP controls most offices locally, at the national level, voters have favored the
Democratic presidential candidate in the last four elections.
Bucks County is represented in U.S. Congress by
8th Congressional district (
map). While concerns about
gerrymandering are on the rise, the 8th District remains one of the few districts in the United States that is almost fully made up by a single county. Since 2002, however, the 8th District has included small portions of neighboring
Montgomery and
Philadelphia counties.
Pennsylvania State Senate
★
Robert M. Tomlinson,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 19th Senatorial District
★
Chuck McIlhinney,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 10th Senatorial District
★
Stewart J. Greenleaf,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 12th Senatorial District
★
Robert C. Wonderling,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 24th Senatorial District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
★
Gene DiGirolamo,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 18th Representative District
★
Bernard T. O'Neill,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 29th Representative District
★
David J. Steil,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 31st Representative District
★
John T. Galloway,
Democrat,
Pennsylvania's 140th Representative District
★
Anthony J. Melio,
Democrat,
Pennsylvania's 141st Representative District
★
Chris King,
Democrat,
Pennsylvania's 142nd Representative District
★
Marguerite Quinn,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 143rd Representative District
★
Katharine M. Watson,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 144th Representative District
★
Paul I. Clymer,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 145th Representative District
★
Scott A. Petri,
Republican,
Pennsylvania's 178th Representative District
United States House of Representatives
★
Patrick Murphy,
Democrat,
Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district
United States Senate
★
Arlen Specter,
Republican
★
Bob Casey,
Democrat
Demographics
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 597,635 people, 218,725 households, and 160,981 families residing in the county. The
population density was 380/km² (984/mi²). There were 225,498 housing units at an average density of 143/km² (371/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.01%
White, 4.08%
Black or
African American, 0.14%
Native American, 3.10%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 0.90% from
other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 3.16% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 20.1% were of
German, 19.1%
Irish, 14.0%
Italian, 7.5%
English and 5.9%
Polish ancestry according to
Census 2000.
There were 218,725 households out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.20% were
married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.70% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $59,727, and the median income for a family was $68,727. Males had a median income of $46,587 versus $31,984 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $27,430. About 3.10% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 4.80% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.
Like the rest of the Philadelphia region, Bucks County is experiencing a rapid increase of immigrants since the 2000 census. A 2005 population estimate of Bucks, showed that the
Indian and
Mexican populations have already doubled since 2000.
Koreans,
Palestinians,
Turks, and
Russians also saw significant increases.
Municipalities
Map of Bucks County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue).
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:
cities,
boroughs, , and, in at most two cases,
towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Bucks County:
Boroughs
Townships
Census-designated places
Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the
U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.
Education
Colleges and universities
★
Bucks County Community College
★
Delaware Valley College
★
Philadelphia Biblical University
Map of Bucks County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts
Public school districts
★
Bensalem Township School District
★
Bristol Borough School District
★
Bristol Township School District
★
Centennial School District
★
Central Bucks School District
★
Council Rock School District
★
Easton Area School District (also in Northampton County)
★
Morrisville Borough School District
★
Neshaminy School District
★
New Hope-Solebury School District
★
Palisades School District
★
Pennridge School District
★
Pennsbury School District
★
Quakertown Community School District
★
Souderton Area School District (also in Montgomery County)
The Bucks County public schools listed above are served by a regional educational service agency
called the
Bucks County Intermediate Unit#22 located in the county seat of
Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Community, junior and technical colleges
★
Bucks County Community College
★
Bucks County School of Beauty Culture
★ CHI Institute
★
Delaware Valley Community College
★
Pennco Tech
Notable residents
★
Charles Albright, (1830-1880), born in Bucks County,
United States Congressman[1]
★
Pearl S. Buck, (1892-1973), lived in
Dublin, author and
Nobel Prize for Literature recipient
★
Abbie Hoffman, (1936-1989), died in
New Hope, activist
★
Margaret Mead, (1901-1978), raised near
Doylestown, anthropologist
★
James Michener, (1907-1997), lived in Doylestown, author and
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction recipient
References
1. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896, , , , Marquis Who's Who, ,
External links
★
Bucks County Government official website
★
Bucks County Conference & Visitors Bureau: Official tourism website
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