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Warwick Township

Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Warwick Township municipal offices are located at 1733 Township Greene, Jamison PA 18929.
Phone: 215‑343‑6100.


Beginnings [1]

The first inhabitants of the area now known as Warwick Township were the Lenni Lenape. One of the township's arterial roadways, Old York Road, was once a Lenape trail. The township was established in 1773 by European settlers and was known as Middlebury. The first Europeans to settle the area were from Scotland and Ireland, who were the founders of the Neshaminy Warwick Presbyterian Church. Among them was Henry Jamison, whose name was given to the village at the intersection of Almshouse and Old York roads.

In 1777 the township was home for an encampment of General Washington and his troops. During the 13 days in August that the Continental Army stayed in Warwick, the Marquis de Lafayette formally took command, Count Pulaski was introduced to Washington, and Betsy Ross' flag first flew. The Moland house in Hartsville served as Washington's headquarters during the encampment. The original boundaries of Warwick Township changed in 1819 when Doylestown Township was formed from part of Warwick, reducing Warwick to less than half its original size. Some land was transferred to Buckingham and Warrington townships.

The township's boundaries were partly planned by William Penn's surveyors. Master survey lines were drawn extending northwesterly from original settlements along the Delaware River to serve as boundaries for original land grants as well as courses for future highways. These lines serve as boundaries between Philadelphia (now Montgomery) and Bucks County and became the basis for a grid system in Bucks. These parallel lines were called Street roads (County Line, Bristol, and Street roads). All roads running northeast to southwest were to intersect at right angles. The grid established by Penn forms much of what is now Warwick Township.

The earliest settlers were farmers who lived on individual farms. As the population grew, villages were settled at Bridge Valley, Hartsville, Jamison, and Traymore. These villages were formed at crossroads and served as marketplaces and gathering places for nearby residents. Goods produced in the township were shipped by wagon to larger markets in Philadelphia. The village also served travelers moving between the Lehigh Valley communities of Allentown and Easton and Philadelphia.

The first census of the township in 1800 indicated that there were 859 people in Warwick. The population declined gradually to 472 by 1920, most likely due to emigration, sickness, war deaths, etc. The population started to grow again, and after World War II, steady growth started as people moved out from the city.

Before World War II Warwick was a primarily agrarian community, with several vacation home communities along the Neshaminy Creek. As the township has grown it has increasingly become a magnet for those leaving Lower Bucks County to come to Central Bucks and a bedroom suburb for the metropolitan Philadelphia area. Warwick's population has grown in the last decades and can be expected to grow in the future.

Adapted from: Warwick Township Supervisors, Plan Committee and Planning Commission, Comprehensive Plan Update, June, 2007, www,warwick-bucks.com, accessed February, 2018.

Nearby Towns: Buckingham Twp • Doylestown Boro • Doylestown Twp • Hatboro Boro • Horsham Twp • Ivyland Boro • Lower Southampton Twp • New Britain Twp • Northampton Twp • Upper Moreland Twp • Upper Southampton Twp • Warminster Twp • Warrington Twp • Wrightstown Twp •