Doylestown

Doylestown's origins date to March 1745 when William Doyle obtained a license to build a tavern on what is now the northwest corner of Dyers Road and Coryell's Ferry Road (now Main and State Streets) The first church was erected in 1815, followed by a succession of congregations throughout the 19th century. The first gas lights were introduced in 1854, and the first electric telegraph station was built in 1846. The borough population was 8,300 as of the 2020 census. The town is located 27.9 miles northwest of Trenton, 31.6 miles southeast of Allentown, 40.3 miles (64.9 km) north of center city Philadelphia, and 81.7 miles (131.5 km) southwest of New York City. In the early 20th century, the town became the best known to the world through the use of the "Tools of the Trade" tool kit, which was developed by the U.S. Army and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. It is located on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which runs from New York to Washington, D.C. and between Philadelphia and Easton. It has a population of about 8,000, according to the 2010 census. It was the site of the Battle of the Bulge, which took place in 1864. The Battle was one of the deadliest battles of the American Civil War, with more than 1,000 people killed. The battle was fought near the town of Newtown, Pennsylvania, which is located in Bucks County.

History

Doylestown is the primary city name, but also New Britain are acceptable city names or spellings. Doylestown's origins date to March 1745 when William Doyle obtained a license to build a tavern on what is now the northwest corner of Dyers Road and Coryell's Ferry Road. The first church was erected in 1815, followed by a succession of congregations throughout the 19th century. Because of the town's relatively high elevation and a lack of strong water power, substantial industrial development never occurred. The town's first post office was established on January 1, 1802. A bill to erect Doylesttown into a borough was introduced into Legislature in February 1830, but failed, as well as a second attempt in the session of 1832. The next significant wave of development occurred after the Civil War, when the 30-acre (12 ha) Magill property was subdivided for residential lots. In the early 20th century, Doyestown became the best known to the world through the "Tools of the Nation-Maker" museum of the Bucks County Society. The home was left to be operated as a museum by Henry Chapman Mercer until his death in 1930, also leaving his similarly constructed home for the rest of her life to be lived there for tours. The museum is open to the public. It is located on the corner of Main and State Streets in the town of Doyslestown. The city's name is derived from the word "doy," which means "dough" or "dirt" in the local dialect. It was also known as "Doystown" before the town was established.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), all land. The borough is bordered by Doylestown Township, except to the northeast where it borders Buckingham Township. Natural features of the borough include Cooks Run and Neshaminy Creek. The Borough has a population of 1,788. The population of Doyestown Borough was 1,856 at the 2010 census. The town's population is 1,938. The city's population was 2,744 at the 2000 census. It has a current population of 2,876, including 1,638 residents who live in the borough. The area's population has declined since the 1990s, when it peaked at 2,941. The current population is 2,637, with the majority of the population living in the Borough's downtown area. It is the only borough in Pennsylvania to have a mayor and a borough council. It also has a borough attorney and borough supervisor. The mayor and borough council have a total population of 3,841, and the borough's police chief is a former mayor and police chief. It was the first borough in the state to be organized in 1876. The first borough to be established in 1881, it was named after a local family. It became a borough in 1883. The last borough to become a borough was in 1891. It had a mayor in 1894.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,227 people, 3,952 households, and 1,908 families residing in the borough. The racial makeup of the borough was 95.24% White, 0.30% African American, 0,11% Native American, 1.42% Asian,0.07% Pacific Islander, and 0.63% from two or more races. 2.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. The median income for a household in the Borough was $46,148, and the median family income was $71,988. About 2.5% of families and 4.4% of residents were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% ofThose age 65 or over. The borough is located on the New Jersey Turnpike, which connects to New Jersey and New Jersey via the Raritan River and the Susquehannock River. It is the only borough in the state to have a post office, which opened in 1881. The population was 94.8 per cent non-Hispanic White as of the 2010 census. It has a median age of 44, with 16.5 per cent of residents under the age of 18. For every 100 females, there are 75.7 males. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.82. The town has a population density of 3,822.5 people per square mile (1,477.4/km²).

Arts and culture

Doylestown Borough is home to three structures designed and built by Henry Chapman Mercer. The Mercer Museum, a structure built in poured concrete, is the home to Mercer's collection of early American artifacts. The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works is an operational facility utilizing the tools and techniques used by Pennsylvania German potters in the 18th and 19th centuries. The borough also boasts a small music conservatory, writers' and artists' organizations, and other cultural activities. It is located near the Polish-American Roman Catholic shrine known as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, which houses a painting of the Black Madonna of CZstochowa. The Fountain House, a historic building, is located in DoylestOWN Borough. It houses a collection known as "Tools of the Nation-Maker", one of the most important of its kind in the world. The former prison across the street from the Mercer Museum has been converted into the James A. Michener Art Museum. It also houses the Spruance Library, a research library, adjoining the museum. The Borough is also home to the Oscar Hammerstein II Farm and the Henry Schmieder Arboretum. It has a number of cultural institutions, including the Delaware Valley University, Peace Valley Park, and the Ringing Rocks Park Conservatory, all of which are open to the public. The town is also the home of the Bucks County Historical Society, which maintains a small history museum.

Government

Doylestown has a council-manager form of government consisting of a "weak" Mayor and a nine-member Borough Council. The Mayor is elected at-large to a term of four years. The Borough Council is in charge of enacting legislation, raising and spending public money, regulating land use, and providing public services. The council is required to meet once a month to conduct business. As of 2022, the Mayor of Doylesttown is Elnora "Noni" West, who will be in office until 2018. The Council consists of Council President Jack O'Brien, Council Vice-President Wendy Margolis, Ben Bell, Tim Brennan, Lawrence Browne, Dennis Livrone, Joe Frederick, Jennifer Jarret, and Amy Taylor Popkin. It contains seven subcommittees. It is divided into three wards, with each ward electing three members to terms of 4 years. It has a mayor who is elected to a four-year term, as well as a Borough Council member who serves a three-year terms, and a borough council member who served a four year term, among other positions. The borough council has a president, vice-president, and council members who serve three-and-a-half year terms. The mayor is elected for a four years term, and the Borough Council members are elected for three- and four year terms, respectively, and there are seven members for each ward. It was established in 1872, and is the oldest borough in the state.

Education

Doylestown borough is the location of several educational facilities of the Central Bucks School District. The borough contains three elementary schools (Doyle Elementary, Cold Spring Elementary and Linden Elementary), one middle school (Lenape Middle School) and one high school (Central Bucks West) Bucks County's regional educational service agency, Bucks County Intermediate Unit No. 22, is also located in the borough. Delaware Valley University, which is adjacent to the borough, contains Paul W. Kutz Elementary and also the campus of Delaware Valley University. The Borough is home to a number of high school football and girls' soccer teams, including Central Bucks West, which has long been a football and women's soccer powerhouse. It is also home to the Bucks County Junior ROTC program, which was founded in the 1950s and has since become one of the most successful in the state. It has also been home to Bucks County High School Football and Girls' Soccer teams, which have won numerous state championships. It also contains the Pennsylvania Center for the Arts, which opened in the 1970s and is now known as the "Pennsylvania Center for The Arts" The borough is also the home of Bucks County Middle School, which began in the 1980s and now has a total of nine schools. It was the first middle school in Bucks County to open in the 1990s. The district also has a middle school and high school that opened in 1998. The school district's high school is known for its football and girl's soccer teams.

Infrastructure

The main north-south street in Doylestown is Main Street. The main east-west street is State Street, which forms a one-way pair with Oakland Avenue in the downtown area. Pennsylvania Route 611 bypasses Doyestown to the west on a freeway, heading north to Easton and south to Philadelphia. U.S. Route 202 bypasses the center of the borough to the south and heads southwest to Norristown and northeast to New Hope. Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service to Doyastown along a route running between the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal and Scranton. Trans-Bridge Lines connects Doystown to New Jersey and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. The Doylstown Community Bike & Hike System consists of over 25 miles (40 km) of trails and side paths for pedestrians and bicycles. The nearest airports with commercial air service are the Trenton-Mercer Airport near Trenton, New Jersey, approximately 15 miles (26 km) away, Lehigh Valley International Airport near Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 25 miles. away, Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, approximately 30 miles (48km) away and Newark Liberty International Airport 50 miles (80 kilometers) away. The borough offers 6-month parking permits that can be used in certain metered spots. Free parking is available at the Bucks County Parking Garage on Broad Street. There is a small public transportation system called the "DoylestOWN DART".

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Doylestown has a Hot-summer, Humid continental climate (Dfa) Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values 12 °F (24 °C) The average annual snowfall (Nov-Apr) is between 30 inches (76 cm) and 36 inches (91 cm) Ice storms and large snowstorms depositing 12 inches (30 cm) of snow occur once every few years, particularly during noreasters from December through February. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was 7.11 inches (181 mm) on September 16, 1999. During the winter months, the average annual extreme minimum air temperature is 1.3°F (18.5 °C). The highest daily average mean dew point was 75.3 °f (24.1°C) on December 8, 2016. The average wettiest month is July which corresponds with the annual peak in thunderstorm activity. The highest air temperature was 102.8 °F on July 22, 2011, and the coldest air temperature  was 12.1 °f on January 22, 1984. Although most summer days are slightly humid, episodes of heat and high humidity can occurs with heat index values > 105 °F F (41 °C), and the average mean temperature for July is 71.6°F (22.0 °F) The highest average daily average dewpoint is 75.4°F (24.0°C), which is the average for July.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania = 20.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 24. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Doylestown = 4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 8,300 individuals with a median age of 45.4 age the population grows by 2.77% in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,847.94 residents per square mile of area (1,485.56/km²). There are average 2.59 people per household in the 6,262 households with an average household income of $101,370 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.30% of the available work force and has dropped -4.83% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 23.04%. The number of physicians in Doylestown per 100,000 population = 240.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Doylestown = 43.7 inches and the annual snowfall = 26.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 102. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 205. 87 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 21.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 44, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania which are owned by the occupant = 80.58%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 29 years with median home cost = $319,970 and home appreciation of -7.04%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.91 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,491 per student. There are 15.7 students for each teacher in the school, 695 students for each Librarian and 440 students for each Counselor. 5.70% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 29.51% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 18.76% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).