Communities of The Township

Warminster is four miles long and two miles wide. It is bounded on the west by  Valley Road, on the north by Bristol Road, on the east by Davisville Road, and on the south by County Line. It contains 6,099 acres and it is the fervent hope of the author that some day a benevolent soul in one of our neighboring townships will contribute one acre to Warminster to make it an even 6,100. Odd numbers are annoying.

Wm. Penn's systematic approach to any kind of organizational project, as shown in his plan for the city of Philadelphia, extended to a great degree in his system for the "... casting of the county into townships..." wherein he attempted, wherever possible, to plan in either rectangles or parallelograms. In many cases, because of topographical contours, this was not possible. Warminster is one of the three so laid out. Bristol Road, Street Road, and County Line were part of Penn's system of Northwest lines and form the Township's main highways, with York Road bisecting the tract. Being essentially flat it has, until recently, been predominantly, a farm community consisting of the villages of Johnsville, Warminster, Hartsville, Breadyville, and Ivyland. Ivyland is not, strictly speaking, a part of Warminster, having been incorporated as a borough in 1905. However, geographically it is bordered on three sides by the township, was once a part of it, and contributed much to its history.

There was one other village in the history of the township which no longer exists as such. It consisted of six houses a half mile east of Hartsville on Bristol Road. This was Babytown, as it was known to the old timers of the area and the name was given because, as old Bill Lewis, a lifelong resident of the village, told the author years ago "-at one time [probably middle 1800's] there were thirty-two babies between the six houses." If this is true, I feel sad that such astounding evidence of prolifacy among our ancestors has been lost to posterity in the gradual annexation of Babytown into Hartsville, thus losing its quite unusual identity. The six houses are still there, plus quite a few more, but few remember Babytown. One of these houses belonged to my grandfather, Albert L. Taylor, and many times in my early years, after hearing the story, I looked around grandfather's living room and speculated upon the extent of caterwauling that must have resounded from those walls with five and one-third (having just learned averages) infants in the house. The one-third probably added but little to the total confusion. 

Ivyland was founded in 1873 by Edwin Lacey, on part of a tract which Thomas Hart, son of John Hart, received from Penn in 1719. Lacey had in mind the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia which was to bring thousands of visitors and the Temperance House, a large four story building with mansard roof and porches completely surrounding the first two stories, was designed to take care of some of the Centennial's overflow of visitors. Construction work was slow, however, and Lacey began to have financial difficulties so that the hotel was not finished in time. Ivyland was incorporated as a borough in 1905. This little town, fortunately, has changed but little with the years; its clean look and shaded streets beckon one back to an era before commercialism began to degrade our byways with - sweeping bulldozers and glaring signs. 

Breadyville, on Bristol Road northwest of Ivyland, was built between 1877 and 1880, by James Flack for Margaret and Catherine Bready.

It is interesting to note that the old Speedway Inn was built at the same time as a temperance house and hotel. The Bready sisters, like Mr. Lacey, hoped to capitalize upon the new railroad which had its terminus at Bristol Road in 1877. Breadyville was later incorporated with Ivyland. 

Warminster took its name after the Township and lay in the area of the intersection of York and Street Roads. In the early days it was known as Warminsterboro and, as such, is shown on the Hughes map of 1859, which also shows a store, the tavern, a wheelwright and smith shop. The district known presently as "the Speedway," within the bounds of  York Road, Street Road, the Reading Railroad, and County Line, had been partially leveled in 1914 for the purpose of building an automobile race track - probably among the first so conceived. 

"The Speedway" has an interesting history. It was originally farmland being part of the Noble grant. Because of its more or less level grade, it was ideally situated for a race track. Races, in Warminster, were nothing new; in 1825, Thomas Beans laid out a beautiful one-half mile circular race track on his property behind the Warminster Hotel. Later, there was a trotting track on Street Road, between the present Madison Avenue and York Road. These were purely a community interest for sport's sake only, and after several serious accidents, they were abandoned by popular consent. The wide, level area, however, continued to haunt sports enthusiasts for years and in 1914 a corporation was formed to build a combined automobile and horse racing tract. Sidings were to be run in from the railroad right of way and accommodations for thousands of sports enthusiasts were sought. A great amount of grading was done and, until recently, the results of that grading were still evident in great mounds of earth here and there about the area. The last of these, on the north side of Olive St. between Sunnemeade and Evergreen Avenues, was removed just recently (1985).

Mr. Robert Ramsey of Hartsville relates that the negroes of the area were accustomed to holding their Sunday evening meetings in a grove of oaks in the center of the track. The 1st World War and other adverse influences led to its abandonment in 1918 and it was later sold off in building lots.

Hartsville is at the crossing of York Road and Bristol Road, being partly in Warminster Township and partly in Warwick Township. Because of its location it was first called Cross Roads, and dates back to the early 1700's. The name was changed after the Hart family settled there later in the same century, becoming Hart's Cross Roads, later shortened to Harstville. The Hartsville Hotel was established by Colonel William Hart in 1780 and was known as The Sign of the Heart. He continued as its proprietor until 1817 and became very active in public affairs until his death in 1831. Hartsville is noted in history for the many schools that have been located there at various periods. Of these, the Log College, founded by the Rev. William Tennent is the most famous and paradoxically the most humble. Gideon Prior, the last survivor of the Revoluntionary Army in Bucks County, died in Hartsville on February 14, 1854.

Washington's Neshaminy encampment in 1777 was a half mile north of Hartsville, along the Neshaminy Creek. The property on the northeast side of the Neshaminy bridge, now known as Headquarters Farm is believed to have been the General's headquarters during his stay although it is known that he also leased the Moland House, presently the property of Mr. and Mrs. Win. Pennebaker, directly opposite across York Road. It was in the Moland House that Lafayette first received his commission from Washington. This encampment is also the site where the new flag of the baby Republic was first flown and from this time began the legend of Betsy Ross. Every school child knows the story of the little dressmaker but it would be interesting to have some of the details of the ceremony and the feelings of those involved at that first flag raising.

Johnsville, like Hartsville, was settled very early in the history of the area. Originally known as Upper Corner and later as Craven's Corner, it was settled in the 1680's. We have no knowledge of its name in those early days if, indeed, it had one. However, it is known that Newtown Road was opened by Bartholomew Longstreth from Street Road to Bristol Road in 1724 and this intersection made it a "corner. "Hence it might be deduced that the name "Upper Corner came into being sometime after 1724. The name "Craven's Corner" was given later by the influential Craven family. Later yet, James Craven built a store in 1814 for his son John and changed the name to Johnsville after his son.

Prior to the appointment of the original Warminster Township Historical Preservation Board by the Warminster Board of Supervisors on January 27, 1986, Craven Hall, at the southeast corner of Newtown Road and Street Road, was the only established historical entity in the Township and, as such, deserves a brief special mention in this Township history.

The rear part of the structure was built by James Jacobus Craven in the 1750's. The front section was added about 1845. The interior architecture of the newer section of the building, particularly that of the living room, suggested to the Craven Hall architect, Mr. John Dickey, that the builder might have had some connection with a group of young Philadelphia architects such as Latrobe, Strickland, and L'Enfant, who later went on to design the Capitol and other famous buildings in Washington and elsewhere.

Through a succession of owners, it finally passed into the hands of the Centennial School Board when it was used for offices and spare classrooms in the 1950's. It was put up for sale in 1977 and was in danger of being demolished by a prospective buyer because it obstructed the view to his automobile lot. A group of concerned citizens, led by a very determined Ella K. Rhoads, was quickly formed to save the building. The Citizens For the Preservation of Craven Hall finally negotiated a lease with the School Board and set about restoring the place to its original splendor. Much of the actual restoration work has been accomplished since that time and the Hall is being put to public use. A bedroom has been furnished in period and tours of the building during fund raising affairs have generated a great deal of interest. Classes from the school district are being brought in to tour the place and learn how people lived during the early years of our country. A slide show is available on the history of Warminster and its old buildings. The Hall is also being used as a meeting place for small local groups. In addition, one room was dedicated as the Ella K. Rhoads Library and houses a book collection oriented strictly toward history and Americana. A list of books is available. At present the Library is open to students and to the general public by appointment only. Craven Hall is an example of what can be done to save some of our old structures when enough public spirit and determination is put into the effort.

The most famous institution in Johnsville was the Beans Agricultural Implement Factory established during the early 1850's by Robert Beans. This factory was one of the leading industrial works of the surrounding area, being a frame building one hundred feet long, with a foundry in the rear. At its height, Mr. Beans employed 50 or 60 people. It was his custom to educate by the old tried and true apprenticeship system whereby he took in boys of 16 and trained them in his art in return for board, clothing and three months schooling.

The concern specialized in all farm machinery. Beans' patented mower was one of the first on the market. He also made corn shelters, clover hullers, etc. His health failing, he sold the plant in 1868 to Mr. 0. W. Minard. The factory was destroyed by fire on July 12, 1870 at a loss of $20,000.  Its location was almost directly across Street Road from Craven Hall.

One of the distinctive qualities of Johnsville is the intense pride its residents bestow upon their heritage. A number of its people are local historians in their own right and community tradition is uppermost in the minds of all. The recent desecration of the Craven family cemetery, in which many of the old tombstones were uprooted and scattered, resulted in horrified dismay among the citizens.

Warminster Heights, originally named Lacey Park, was built by the U.S. Government in 1943 to house civilian workers at Brewster Aeronautical Corporation which later became the present Naval Air Development Center (NADC). The Government sold the property in 1957 to a private owner who allowed it to deteriorate to a deplorable condition over a period of about 18 years. The property was taken over by the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County in 1975, which undertook major improvements in the housing, streets, and utility systems.

The Warminster Heights Development Corporation was formed in 1975 to manage the property. Also in 1975, the Warminster Heights Home Owners Association was formed as a non-profit organization which took over ownership of the property as a cooperative in 1986. Over the past ten years, much has been accomplished in the revitalization of the community. As a result, Warminster Heights has become a cleaner, safer, and more pleasant place to live.

Included in the general improvement of Warminster Heights is a 188 unit mid-rise subsidized housing project for the elderly and a modern medical center.

Other communities have sprung up like mushrooms over the face of the township during the past few years. These are contractors developments and are generally identified with the nearest town although all boast a community name. This new, youthful, and eager blood injected into the veins of virile but aging Warminster has given it a new kind of stature; the existing community organizations have received an enlivening "shot in the arm" and new evidences of civic spirit are continually being shown. The old way of life has long receded into the past where, honored and respected, it belongs, in any new era.