Solebury Township

Solebury Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 7,743 at the 2000 census.

School District: New Hope Solebury

Homes for Sale in Solebury

Neighborhoods in Solebury Township

Location of Solebury Township in Bucks County

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 27.2 square miles, of which, 26.6 square miles of it is land and 0.6 square miles of it 2.20% is water.

Solebury Township borders Plumstead, Buckingham, and Upper Makefield.

History

Solebury's wealth of unique and irreplaceable historic resources dates from the beginning of European settlement in the 17th century. Despite considerable change in the landscape in recent years, there remains in Solebury today an almost timeless sense of history. Conservation of historic resources is for Solebury today and for future generations who may learn from and appreciate the past. Historic resources (structures, sites, and landscapes) are vital to Solebury's special sense of place. They impart the area's heritage. By protecting them, they guide and inspire new development.

Quarries and Lime Kilns

A limestone belt about a mile wide runs across the township, and was a source of building stone and mortar. Lime was roasted in kilns to produce agricultural lime and mortar. Sandstone and shale quarries supplied additional building materials, along with an abundance of field stone.

The lime kiln at Aquetong was in operation for over 100 years until it was abandoned in 1924. This kiln, one of at least 20 operating in Solebury Township, was owned for over 50 years by the Naylor family. The quarry was on the left, the center bay was used for storing and there were three furnaces.

Mills

Five natural streams - the Paunacussing, Cuttalossa, Primrose, Aquetong and Pidcock - were capable of mill power, and in early times were put to good use. There was once a grist mill on the upper Pidcock, but only remnants can be found today. There was a grist mill and a saw mill, first built by John Pidcock, in about 1701, which later became the Thompson-Neely mill. On the Aquetong were a fulling mill for processing woolen cloth, a paper mill and a linen mill.

On Primrose Creek stood Phillips grist mill, now a community center. The Cuttalossa, at Sugan Road, saw the Armitage grist mill, a saw mill and plaster mill. Farther downstream was a larger saw mill, parts of which are now incorporated into the Cuttalossa Inn.

The Paunacussing was also noted for its mills: the Stover grist mill and adjacent saw mill in Carversville, built about 1727; a tannery across the road and the Carver grist mill on Fleecydale Road below the village; and the nearby Ely tannery.

The first mill established in the Carversville area was built in 1725-1726 by John Hough, Jr. and Ambrose Barcroft. It is believed that the original structure was made of wood, severely damaged by fire, and replaced with a stone structure. The last owner to operate the grist mill was Henry Stover who, following a fire in 1894, rebuilt the structure, adding height and replacing the peaked roof with a mansard type. He operated a mill until his death in 1915.

Located in the center of the village of Carversville (formerly Mill Town), this grist mill ground grain which was poured into bags made by hand of twisted straw or hay, forming a sort of rope. This rope was known as "sugan" ( pronounced "suggin"); hence the bags were called "sugans." It is believed that this is how Sugan Road received its name.

Cuttalossa Farm is dominated by the "mill seat," a home constructed for Watson Kenderdine by his father John. A small building next to the residence was the ice house. Across from the mill seat is the mill pond, now much smaller than in milling days. Water to power the mill below went under the Cuttalossa Road into the mill race paralleling the residence driveway and into an elevated, wooden aqueduct to a wheel on the north corner of the mill. This aqueduct fed the saw mill and the axe handle mill.

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