Newtown

Key ABCD activities:
•    AhHa Fridays, a First Friday event organized by Main Street Program
•    Newtown has hosted First Night Newtown, a popular New Year’s Eve celebration, for the past ten years
•    Many community cultural organizations including local library, movie theater (both among the oldest of their kind in the country), the chamber orchestra,  and historic association 
•    A new walking tour, the Newtown Heritage Walk, has been mapped and marked to highlight 30 historic sites

Background:

In the latter part of the 17th century, William Penn established several towns in the region surrounding Philadelphia to support agricultural communities and provide country homes for city residents. One of these communities, New Township, established in 1684 on the banks of what is now known as the Newtown Creek. The original village included 640 acres, over time the name was shortened to Newtown.  From 1726 until 1813 Newtown was the county seat of Bucks County. In 1838, the commercial center and some surrounding homes were incorporated into Newtown Borough. Today, Newtown Township surrounds Newtown Borough and each has its own local government.  In 1969 a Historic District was established in the Borough. The District was expanded in 1976 and again in 1985. Newtown Borough has 2,300 residents.

For more information contact:

Christine Ortwein
Executive Director – Newtown Corporation
P.O. Box 305 ~ 40 South State Street
Newtown, PA 18940
(215) 968-3440 ~ chrisortwein@newtownpa.org