The Bristol Historic District in

Bristol, Pennsylvania Bristol is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northeast of Center City Philadelphia, opposite Burlington, New Jersey on the Delaware River. It antedates Philadelphia, being settled in 1681 and first incorporat ...

was included on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1987. The district has over 300 buildings, a few dating back to the early eighteenth century. It includes 28 acres, which is the area of the original town as laid out in 1697 and is bounded by the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

, and Lincoln, Pond, Cedar, and Mill Streets. Most of the buildings are residential and only 22 are considered to be non-historic intrusions to the district.Bristol Historic District
Delaware and Lehigh National Historic Corridor, A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary, National Park ServicePatrick W. O'Bannon, 1986, NRHP Nomination Form - Bristol Historic District/ref>

History

Bristol's first European settler, Samuel Clift, operated a ferry across the Delaware River starting in 1681. A

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

settlement soon grew near the ferry, and in 1697 residents petitioned the Provincial Council to establish the community as the third town in the

Pennsylvania Colony The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...

. The Bristol Friends Meetinghouse, built in 1711-1714 and partially reconstructed in 1728, is still standing and represents this era of the town's history. Many other buildings burned down in the fire of 1724.Bristol Friends Meeting
accessed 2010-11-04. During the last half of the 18th century the town was an important station on the New York to Philadelphia stagecoach route. The Delaware Hotel, at Radcliffe and Mill Street, was originally built in 1765 but has been added to many times since. The 1781 Thomas Belford residence at 200 Mill Street, later turned into a drug store, also represents this era. From the 1780s to the 1820s Bath Springs, just north of the original town, became a famous spa and large residences were built by wealthy Philadelphians and New Yorkers. Shipbuilding was also an important industry. In 1832 the

Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal The Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, more commonly called the Delaware Canal, runs for parallel to the right bank of the Delaware River from the entry locks near the mouth of the Lehigh River and terminal end of the Lehigh Canal at E ...

was completed with Bristol at its southern end, and the town became a transportation hub. Business boomed with hotels, wharves, docks and warehouses lining the riverfront. About 1855 the boom ended as the canal gained access to the Delaware River to the north at New Hope, allowing traffic to New York to bypass Bristol. Many of the houses in the 300 block of Radcliffe Street were built during this period. The 1851 First Baptist Church was designed by

Thomas U. Walter Thomas Ustick Walter (September 4, 1804 – October 30, 1887) was an American architect of German descent, the dean of American architecture between the 1820 death of Benjamin Latrobe and the emergence of H.H. Richardson in the 1870s. He was ...

. St. James Episcopal Church, designed by Samuel Sloan was completed in 1857. The

Dorrance Mansion The Dorrance Mansion is a historic house built in 1862–63, located at 300 Radcliffe St., Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania on the Delaware River in the Bristol Historic District. The house represents the lavish life of Bristol's early Victo ...

was completed during the Civil War. Following the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

to town's economy recovered as mills and factories were built along the canal, which provided both water power and transportation. Bristol became the largest center of industry in Bucks County and the town grew with both workers housing and the mansions of industrialists.

Gallery

File:1st Baptist Bristol TU Walter.JPG, First Baptist Church, designed by

File:King George Inn.JPG,

King George II Inn The King George II Inn, located in Bristol, Pennsylvania, is believed to be the oldest continuously operated inn in the United States. It was first established in 1681 as the Ferry House by Samuel Clift. The inn was a main stopping point on the ro ...

File:Dorrance tower.JPG, Riverfront of the

File:RadcliffeMarket.JPG, Old inn at Radcliffe and Market Streets

References

External links

Pennsylvania's Delaware, Lehigh and Wyoming Valleys
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Georgian architecture in Pennsylvania Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Historic districts in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Houses in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania 1987 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Bucks County, Pennsylvania