Culture
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Bucks County Playhouse’s Alexander Fraser Steps Down on a High Note After 12-Year Run
After 12 years of turning Bucks County Playhouse from a struggling historic theater into one of the region’s most vibrant cultural destinations, Alexander Fraser is taking his final bow on his own terms, writes Earl Hopkins for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Fraser wrapped up his time as producing director this weekend with the opening of South…
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Cliveden in Germantown is Rewriting Its Own History, and Inviting the Community to Help
Standing on the grounds of Cliveden in Germantown, it’s easy to feel the weight of what happened here. Musket fire tore through these walls during the 1777 Battle of Germantown. British soldiers barricaded themselves inside while Continental troops, including forces under George Washington, tried to break through. The stone facade still bears the scars. But…
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Gone but Not Forgotten: 10 Vanished Montgomery County Hangouts
You’ve probably driven past one of these without knowing it. The Aldi off Route 309 in Montgomeryville sits where carloads once swapped a driver’s license for an in-car heater on cold nights. The food court at Plymouth Meeting Mall covers the ground where moviegoers once sat near a fountain that never worked. And the office…
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Pennsylvania’s 1776 Constitution: A Parallel Celebration
The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, but it also marks the semi-quincentennial of another seminal text: the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776. While the Declaration remains a foundational pillar of American history, the Pennsylvania Constitution represents an equally significant, highly progressive milestone in democratic governance that deserves its own distinct…
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Levittown: The Bucks County Town That Changed How America Builds Homes
In 1952, Bucks County farmland became the testing ground for a new way of building America, one that would put a house within reach of nearly anyone, writes JD Mullane for Bucks County Courier Times. Levittown emerged from the post-World War II housing shortage and went on to become the blueprint for suburban development across…
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Valley Forge Hosts Free July 4 Celebration for America’s 250th Anniversary
When George Washington’s Continental Army camped at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777, the survival of the American experiment was far from certain. This July 4, the ground where that story unfolded becomes the setting for a celebration of how far the nation has come. Valley Forge Park Alliance, the official philanthropic partner of…
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Pre-Revolutionary Tavern in Upper Bucks County Hits the Market for $1.25M
A property in Bucks County, which predates a large portion of the country’s history, has recently gone up for sale at a historic price. Jeff Ward wrote about the tavern for WFMZ-69 News. The Raven’s Nest, located at 625 Old Bethlehem Road in Quakertown, has operated as a tavern since 1750. As one of the…
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Quakertown’s Sabrina Carpenter Responds to Criticism of Her Sexy Stage Persona, Rejects Industry Double Standards
Quakertown native Sabrina Carpenter said she would never tone down her sexy stage persona after music mogul Pete Waterman called her performances “offensive,” according to a staff report from The Express Tribune. Carpenter embraced her identity, saying that critics are unable to handle a woman who is confident in her own skin. “My message has…
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Bucks County Reporter Returns to 1976 Double Murder Case in New True Crime Book
It started with a tip at a 7-Eleven. Nearly 50 years later, that chance stop has become a book, and for Kathryn Canavan, a reckoning with one of the most haunting stories of her journalism career, writes John DiCarlo for Main Line Today. The former Bucks County Courier Times reporter recently published Killer in the…
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Who Was George Nakashima? The Architect-Turned-Woodworker Behind an Iconic New Hope Legacy
World-renowned architect George Nakashima rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most respected woodworkers in the world. While his career has earned him a global reputation, the celebrated artist’s legacy has deep roots in Bucks County, report Michele Haddon and Daniella Heminghaus for Bucks County Courier Times. Nakashima’s path to the workbench was…
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Chester County Reenactors Ready Their for Busiest Year Yet as America250 Kicks Into High Gear
When Randell Spackman steps onto his Thornbury Township farm, he’s standing on hallowed ground. The Battle of Brandywine was fought largely in what is now his backyard, and 249 years later, that history is anything but distant. As America250 celebrations ramp up across the region, Spackman is among the Revolutionary War reenactors preparing for one of their busiest years ever, writes…
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How Levittown’s Home Construction Method Transformed Homeownership After World War II
A simple slab of concrete helped reshape the American Dream, and its origins trace back to Bucks County, writes staff for PhillyBurbs. After World War II, millions of veterans came home to a country without enough housing. Levittown planner and builder Bill Levitt had a solution, and it started from the ground up. Rather than…
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How New Hope Became, and Stayed, One of America’s Greatest Art Towns
Walk through New Hope on any weekend and you feel it before you can explain it. Something about the place hums. Galleries tucked into 18th-century storefronts. Live music spilling out of open doors. Theater companies, sculptors, photographers, and painters all sharing the same few walkable blocks along the Delaware. What most visitors do not know…
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Bucks County is Home to Five Castles. Read to Learn Where They Are and How to Enjoy Your Visit
Bucks County is home to five castles, with a sixth one just outside of the county, and locals and visitors can now learn where they all are. Staff writers from Visit Bucks County wrote about the local castles. Fonthill Castle in Doylestown is Henry Chapman Mercer’s former home. It features 44 rooms, over 6,000 books,…
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Paranormal Playthings: Levittown Supernatural Expert Curates Haunted Doll Collection
Mary Jo Chudley a Levittown paranormal expert has strong connections to the spirit world, including in playthings of the past. James McGinnis, of the Bucks County Courier Times, reported her ownership of haunted dolls. Chudley purchased one doll and brought it home. Soon after, lights inexplicably flickered, doors slammed, and she felt ill, leading her…
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Visions of America at Hicks Art Center Gallery Explores America’s Past, Present, and Future
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, “Visions of America” invites visitors to experience the nation’s story through a collection of art, history, and thought-provoking dialogue. Paintings, prints, textiles, installations, photography, film, and historical artifacts create a dynamic journey through America’s triumphs, struggles, and possibilities. Opening June 5 at Bucks County Community College’s Hicks Art Center…
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The Summer Camp That Never Really Ended for These Chester County Men
Every Friday, about 20 men scattered across the country open their laptops and dial into a Zoom call. They’re in their 70s and 80s now, but for an hour or so, they’re kids at camp again. The thread connecting them is Camp Saginaw, the overnight camp in Oxford farmland where they spent their summers in…
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How Philadelphia’s John Fitch Launched America’s First Steamboat on the Delaware River in 1787
Long before Robert Fulton became a household name, a lesser-known inventor was already churning up the Delaware River. In 1787, John Fitch launched what is widely recognized as America’s first functioning passenger and freight steamboat right here in Philadelphia, writes Violet Comber-Wilen for Billy Penn at WHYY. His original 45-foot vessel was a radical idea…
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