Yardley Real Estate
Bucks County, PA
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A Short History of Yardley |
COLONIAL BEGINNINGS
Yardley, Pennsylvania was founded by William Yardley, who emigrated to America in July, 1682 with his family. He made an agreement with William Penn, before leaving England, to buy 500 acres for ten pounds. A survey was completed in October 1682, and the area William Yardley settled was called "Prospect Farm." It was located just outside of the present Yardley Borough. William Yardley and his family died in 1693, possibly of smallpox.
A nephew, Thomas Yardley, came to America to settle the estate and never returned to England. He opened a ferry line which started operating in 1710 from Letchworth Avenue, the lower boundary of the village, and landed in New Jersey further downstream. This was an important link between West Jersey and the three roads leading to Philadelphia by way of Falls, Langhorne and Newtown. The Yardley family occupied the land for more than 150 years.
Neither Philadelphia nor Trenton existed when Yardley was founded, although there were small settlements at Burlington, Bristol, and near Falls Ferry.
NINETEENTH CENTURY GROWTH
Yardley began to develop into a village about 1807, and by 1880 had a population of 820. Early industries included a spoke and handle factory, sawmill, felloe factory, plate and plaster mill, and two flour mills. The first post office, established in 1828, used the name "Yardleyville." The name became "Yardley" again at the time the Reading Railroad came through the area in 1876.
During the Civil War, Yardley was a station for the Underground Railroad, an escape route for slaves. Known hiding places were under the eaves of the Continental Hotel (now the Continental Tavern), in bins of warehouses on the Delaware Canal (completed in 1862), and at the General Store (now Worthington Insurance). At Lakeside, the yellow house facing Lake Afton on N. Main St., one brick-walled cellar room is also thought to have been a hiding place.
Yardley Borough was incorporated on March 4, 1895.
LAKE AFTON
This man-made pond in downtown Yardley, at Main Street and Afton Avenue, has its own duck population, and offers year-round enjoyment, with fishing during the warmer months, and ice skating in winter. The lake was first noted in a deed dated 1713, and mentioned in Benjamin Franklin's "Pennsylvania Gazette" in 1731. As part of a system of dams, ponds and canals, it provided water to run grist and saw mills. It has been maintained since early 1970s by the Friends of Lake Afton.
YARDLEY GRIST MILL
The Grist Mill was a center of commerce from the beginning of Yardley's history. Granted the land on which it stands by William Penn in 1682, millwright John Brock passed it on to his heirs. Thomas Yardley purchased the land in 1732, and expanded the existing mill operation. His son, Thomas, rebuilt the mill in 1769. During the Civil War, the mill played a vital role, supplying thousands of tons of sorghum and meal for Union soldiers. By 1926 the mill had ceased operation, and the bulding was used for warehousing. Now, carefully restored, the Grist Mill houses several attractive shops.
DELAWARE CANAL
Starting in 1832, mule teams pulled specially constructed barges through a system of locks round-the-clock on this 60-mile canal along the Delaware River. Forty million tons of coal and other cargo were hauled between Easton and Bristol, Pa., until competition from the railroad forced its closure in 1931. In 1940 the canal and towpath became Theodore Roosevelt State Park. It was declared a historic landmark in 1978, and was later renamed Delaware Canal State Park. Today it is the most intact remnant of the canal-building boom in the United States. The towpath is a popular recreational destination suitable for biking, walking and jogging, and canoeing is enjoyed along much of the canal.
From material supplied by the Yardley Historical Association
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