Hillside Farm was built in Lower Makefield Township c. 1737-57 on a plot of land owned by Cornelius Slack
~ from original pen & ink drawing (artist unknown)

Home
About Lower Makefield
Historical Properties
Events Calendar
Newsletter
LMHS Scholarship

About Lower Makefield

Lower Makefield Historical Society
Board of Director's & Officers for 2011 - 2012

Officers
President:Pat Miiller
Vice President:Jennifer Hauck
Secretary: Judy Filippo
Treasurer:Karen L. Boyd
Past President:Kellee Blake


Directors
Joyce Anderson
Dorothy Carr
Pat Frankenfield
Grace Godshalk
Pat Kolle
Bick Remmey
Pat Shandly


The name of this organization shall be the Lower Makefield Historical Society, hereinafter referred to as The Society. The Society is an organization and shall be operated exclusively as a nonprofit educational organization.

Mission Statement

"The Mission Statement of the Lower Makefield Historical Society is to stimulate an appreciation of the beauty and historic significance of Lower Makefield Township. To promote, research and publish finding regarding local history and culture. To establish a historical library and collections of artifacts and to foster an interest in and encourage the preservation of historic buildings, sites and landscapes in Lower Makefield and the greater Bucks County areas."




Little Known Facts About Lower Makefield Township

Did you know that...

  • Fifty years ago the roads were just dirt, some not even two cars wide...and that there were no hexagon stop signs on any roads.
  • Stony Hill Road was one lane wide and closed frequently during snow storms.
  • The first traffic light was at the intersection of Big Oak and Makefield Roads. Duerr's general store had a gas pump and the "famous'' Big Oak which was the source of the renaming of the road that was to the west of their store.
  • AMTRAK purchased two rails for passenger service. There were train cars cailed "dinkies" that only traveled locally.
  • Some maps have the historic Village of Edgewood called "Stradlington" (possibly named for Elias Stradling). It was changed to Summerville in 1835, because tourists were coming to vacation here for the fresh air. It was a thriving summer resort community with several boarding-houses and in the early 1900's a hotel which is still standing and occupied today...some people made this area home, worked in the Heacock greenhouses, the Roelofs Stetson felt and hat factory, or plowed the rich soil and raised produce and shipped goods as far away as New York. According to James Flowers' papers, a general store had operated more or less continuously in the village for 150 years. HISTORIC!
  • The Blacksmith Shop was owned by Christopher James "Pop" and Christopher Henry Bennett. (Chris's dad). They were so busy, they had to operate two forges. They shod the Heacock horses and repaired carts and buggies.
  • Point of View Stud Farm on Langhorne-Yardley Road was where million dollar winning race horse "Uncle Miltie" was trained on a quarter mile race track. Uncle Miltie won the Champagne Stakes and Wakefield Handicap in New York at the age of 2 and the Lamplighter Handicap at Monmouth Park at the age of 3.
  • The Bucks County temperance movement in the middle 1800's and then Prohibition in the 1920's to about 1934, contributed to the "DRY" status of today.

For many more Fun Facts about Lower Makefield...click here

Many thanks to Kaaren Steil of the Lower Makefield Historical Commission
for compiling all these interesting facts


About Historic Edgewood Village

Edgewood Village provides one of the last remaining examples
of early community development in Lower Makefield Township.

  • Bucks County was one of William Penn's three original counties and by 1692 Makefield became one of the five governments in Bucks County.

  • Most of the first settlers of Makefield Township arrived to survey and take up their allocations from 1682-1690. Most grants totaled about 500 acres. Many of these Quakers sub-divided their estates among family members and allotted surplus lands for servants' headrights.

  • In the 19th century, agriculture practices changed. Wheat, corn and hay were still the principal field crops, but urban growth fostered a dairy revolution on Pennsylvania farms. Lower Makefield farms became "specialized" in crops for the urban market, producing exotic vegetables, flowers, prize horses, other livestock, and milk.

  • At the crossroad of Route 432 and Stony Hill Road, a small village developed in the middle of the 18th century with a tavern, some tenant houses, a blacksmith shop and livery, it shared a development pattern common to many other crossroad villages of Bucks County.

  • the Village of Edgewood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because it possesses significance as a crossroads community which was important in the development of the region from the 1800's through to the 20th century.

For the entire history of Edgewood Village...click here

Lower Makefield Historical Society
P.O. Box 228
Yardley, PA 19067
info@LowerMakefieldHistoricalSociety.com