Bryn Gweled is a small community in

Upper Southampton Township Upper Southampton Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,152 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 6.6 square miles ...

, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Described as an "intentionally cooperative community",Bryn Gweled website
history section Bryn Gweled consists of 78 privately owned homes on of collectively owned land.Bryn Gweled website
/ref> The community was founded in 1940 by thirteen mostly

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 ...

families from the Philadelphia area. The name of the community means "Hill of Vision" in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

. The community maintains its founders' vision of collective responsibility, consensus-style management, and racial diversity, and has been cited as an example of community-based decision-making in action. Some of the house architecture was created by various students of the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright such as Robert Forsythe Bishop and others who went on to have distinguished further careers. The homes are located on two acre plots, nestled into fields and forests, an oasis from the surrounding Philadelphia suburban sprawl. Several of the homes feature unique architectural elements such as heated floors, exposed wooden beams, wide open interior spaces, central fireplaces typical of organic architecture and Usonian homes.

Notable people

Margaret H. Lippert Margaret H. Lippert (born June 12, 1942) is an American author of books and anthologies drawing from the folklore and storytelling traditions of cultures from around the world. Early life and career Margaret H. Lippert was born in Philadelphia, ...

, an award-winning author of books and anthologies Mario Capecchi, Nobel Prize-winning molecular geneticist

Notes

{{authority control Intentional communities in the United States Unincorporated communities in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania