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Bucks County Historical Society

84 South Pine Street
215-345-0210

The Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS), a private non-profit organization, located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, is a unique cultural and educational institution which operates The Mercer Museum, Spruance Library and Fonthill Museum. As the County Historical Society, it is charged with collecting, preserving and interpreting the rich history and culture of Bucks County and the Delaware Valley region. As the primary inheritor of the material and intellectual legacy of Henry Chapman Mercer, the BCHS is custodian of a regionally and nationally significant collection of tools and artifacts which illuminate the history of pre-industrial America to, c. 1850.

The BCHS was founded in 1880 by General William Watts Hart Davis with several friends, including the twenty-three year old Henry Chapman Mercer.

In 1903 a site was purchased for the Historical Society in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and in 1904 the Elkins Building was erected. The organization remains housed in the Elkins Building which is now a part of The Mercer Museum.

Activities such as family hands-on craft workshops, special exhibits, craft demonstrations, evening craft classes, children's summer craft camp, lectures and seminars and other special events are offered to a diverse audience to educate and entertain.

Annual programs and fund raising events include "The Mercer Museum Folk Fest" where more than 100 skilled artisans demonstrate 18th- and 19th-century crafts related to exhibits in the Museum; and "Savory Sampler" where guests dine on fine cuisine from area restaurants while they tour the Museum.

The Bucks County Historical Society is supported by 40 full and part-time staff members, and over 300 volunteers. Membership is open to individuals, families, organizations, and businesses.


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