Tinicum Township remained just beyond civilization's limits as Europeans settled on farmland in lower parts of Bucks County early in the 18th century. Inhabited by Native Americans, the land was not appealing to Europeans. Tinicum was slowly settled by the English, Scotch-Irish, and Germans until early in the 20th century, when Eastern Europeans arrived, followed by artists and writers seeking refuge from city life. The hilly, rocky, and sometimes swampy topography that discouraged early settlement has continued to limit development of the rural areas between the six villages and hamlets of...

George Washington camped with his army in the Middlebrook Valley in 1777, barely 70 years after the first Dutch farmers had settled the area. Farming continued to be the primary occupation for the next century in both Martinsville and the surrounding valley, now known as Washington Valley. Martinsville featured a blacksmith, general store, post office, and hotel, which was also a stagecoach stop on the road from Liberty Corner to Bound Brook. By the 1880s, two quarrying operations attracted settlers from other parts of Europe, and for many of the inhabitants, farming became only a secondary...