Historic Doylestown Attracts Senior Travelers

Doylestown, a borough and the county seat of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has a population of a little over 8,000.  Senior travelers will find Doylestown 27 miles due north of Philadelphia and 80 miles southwest of New York City.

Many feel that the name “Doylestown” was derived from an innkeeper named William Doyle who kept a public house in 1745 known as “Doyle’s Tavern”. Today Doylestown is known as a place for “Preserving the Past and Embracing the Future.”

The Doyle family originally came from France and their name was D’ouilli, but moved to Ireland during the Inquisition. Around 1600 their name was changed to D’oyley and later to Doyle.

Dr. David Hanauer sends us on a photographic journey of Buck’s County and Doylestown. At the very bottom of this link is a short film from 1954 called “Our Home Town” and another focusing on the local Historical Society. I think that senior readers will find this link most interesting.

Seniors Hear of Famous Former Residents

Famous folks have called Doylestown home.  So it was for James Michener, Henry Chapman Mercer (an architect) and Oscar Hammerstein II. Pearl Buck, Margaret Mead and a rock star named Pink  called this borough home as well.

Doylestown was originally the territory of the Lenni Lenape tribe of the Delaware Indians. Doylestown and Bucks County today remain widely regarded as some of the most beautiful countryside in the country. It is classified as one of the best places in the nation to raise a family.

Senior visitors will discover great places to bike and hike, and some fine restaurants in a downtown area lively with attractive small shops. The borough hosts events all year long that bring in folks from all over the county.

Seniors Even Find a Castle

Fonthill, a concrete castle with over 40 rooms, was once the home of Henry Mercer (1856-1930). It is the #1 attraction in Doylestown. Mercer was an archaeologist, anthropologist, ceramist, scholar and antiquarian and built Fonthill both as his home and as a showplace for his collection of tiles and prints.

Mercer Museum rates high as well. Mercer constructed the building to house his collection of nearly 30,000 pre-industrial revolution tools and artifacts. Mercer began construction of the Museum in 1913 with the help of eight day laborers and “Lucy” the horse. He completed construction in June of 1916.

Take in the “Art & Soul” of Bucks County, the James A. Michener Art Museum. It offers a fine collection of Pennsylvania Impressionist paintings with special exhibitions and showcases several regional artists.

The Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle offer a wide array of programs, events, exhibits and tours. Senior genealogists, you can research your family history in their extensive Library operated by the Bucks County Historical Society.

I encourage you to put Doylestown in your itinerary when you are in eastern Pennsylvania. -jeb