,

History

Bedminster is a scenic, rural township located in the central part of upper Bucks County. The gently rolling hills, divided by streams such as Deep Run, Mink Run, Deer Run, and Cabin Run likely attracted the earliest settlers. Although William Penn had become proprietor of this area as early as 1681, the earliest settlers were Scotch-Irish and German immigrants in the early 1700’s. The heavily wooded areas, where small game abounded, were helpful in building homes, barns, and churches.

Almost a third of Bedminster was conveyed by the Penn family to a William Allen of Philadelphia in 1730, a prosperous and prominent businessman of his time. William Allen was a Tory and in 1776, while war clouds gathered over Philadelphia, he took his family to England. Much of his property was confiscated in 1778 by the Pennsylvania Assembly. His estate managed to re-obtain his land holdings in the early 1800’s and proceeded to auction off any unsold land at the John Shaw’s Tavern in Dublin, now the Dublin Inn. By 1815 most of the undeveloped land in Bedminster had been sold.

Bedminster Township was formed in March of 1742 by 35 inhabitants of the area called Deep Run. The signatures attached to the petition to the Quarter Session in Newtown were: James Hughes, Abraham Black, Mr. Miller, Thomas Darrah, Mark Overhold, Nicholas Angony, Jacob Leatherman, Henry Groud, Michael Lett, David Kulp, Daniel Norcauk, John Bois, Joseph Armstrong, John Riffle, Ralph Traugh, Fetter Ryner, Matthew Ree, Andrew Sloan, Tillman Kulp, Christian Stover, George Lynard, John Clymer, Nicholas Keen and Frederick Croft. Once the petition was granted, a John Chapman was given the order to lay out the boundaries of the Township. It is believed that it was Chapman who gave the township its name of Bedminster.

There were originally five villages in the Township of Bedminster: Pipersville, Hagersville, Keelersville, Dublin and Bedminsterville. Incorporation of Dublin Borough took place in 1912 and Bedminsterville was later shortened to just Bedminster.

During much of Bedminster’s history the main occupation was farming, mostly dairy. Everything that was needed could be found in any of the five villages that existed in the Township. Tax records of the late 1800’s show businesses and trades such as: creameries, taverns, mills, general merchandise stores, masons, painters, shoemakers, saddlers and harness makers, tinsmiths, wheelwrights, carpenters and builders, butchers, cigar makers and dealers, as well as doctors and clergymen. Population had grown from 991 people in 1794 to 2,482 by 1880. In 2000 Bedminster had a population of 4,804 residents.

The early 1900’s brought the coming of the automobiles and airplanes which probably contributed to the decline of the small villages and its shops. The novelty of going to large towns such as Doylestown or Quakertown was undeniable. There were more choices, competitive pricing and greater variety for the items they needed. The automobile meant mobility, which in turn meant people moving into the community who worked outside the community. Bedminster, as other communities, has changed in the years since William Penn. The Township still has ancestors from the early settlers living here. Many of the old homesteads, schools, post offices, mills and taverns still exist. The Township has been able to retain many of the rural characteristics of its early years, something we are very proud of.

 

Newsletter

Land & Municipal Office

  • 432 Elephant Rd Perkasie, PA 18944
  • Phone: 215-249-3320
  • Fax: 215-249-8270
  • Hours: 8am to 4pm, Mon. – Fri.

Police Department

  • 3112 Bedminster Rd PO Box 111 Bedminster, PA 18910
  • Phone: 215-795-2972
  • Fax: 215-795-2034