If location is everything in real estate, then Bucks County and the Delaware River Valley have it all. This southeastern Pennsylvania area is situated about 90 minutes from New York City, about 50 minutes from Center City Philadelphia and 50 minutes from Princeton, N.J., yet it offers beautiful countryside, terrific public and private schools, ample recreation and an array of residential real estate to suit every taste.
Incorporated in 1682, Bucks County is a history-filled area that encompasses 622 square miles, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Washington Crossing, Pa., in Central Bucks, is where George Washington’s troops crossed the Delaware River to fight the Christmas Day Battle of Trenton in 1776. Because of the area’s early roots, it is renowned for its exceptional assortment of 18th and 19th century historic houses and small towns that still offer an almost European ambience thanks to their intact antique buildings and narrow streets.
Over the years, but particularly since the 1930s, many artists and free spirits have called Bucks County home, among them Oscar Hammerstein, George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart, Dorothy Parker, Pearl Buck, S.J. Perelman and more. Like so many people, they found the area’s historic farmhouses and wide open spaces irresistible as a getaway from city life. To this day, Bucks County still has a very active arts community and is a fine spot for combing through galleries and antiques stores. And many city dwellers use Bucks County as their getaway, the low-key place to decompress each weekend.
Most people think of Bucks County in terms of Upper Bucks, Central Bucks and Lower Bucks – each area is quite different from the other -- so to orient newcomers to this corner of southeastern Pennsylvania, we offer guides to each of these areas here. Note that the county’s eastern edge borders the Delaware River with beautiful New Jersey countryside and, farther south, some busy commercial areas, just across the river.
More about Upper Bucks County
More about Central Bucks County
More about Lower Bucks County
