About Bucks County
Bucks County is a county found in the U.S. state (usualwealth) of Pennsylvania. The county seat is Doylestown. This county is part of the Delaware Valley area.
As of 2000, the population was 597,635. A 2004 U.S. Census estimate placed the population at 621,342, making it the fourth most populous county in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia, Allegheny, and Montgomery counties), and the 95th most populous county in the United States. As of 2000, it is the 76th wealthiest county in the nation as measured by median family income. Bucks County was one of the three original counties in Pennsylvania. It was named by William Penn in 1682 after Buckinghamshire, England, the county where he lived and from which his family originated. Bucks is the abbreviation for Buckinghamshire, and both names are used interchangeably in England. Penn's home, Pennsbury Manor, is found within Bucks County.
Place names in Bucks County culled from places in Buckinghamshire include Buckingham, Chalfont (named after Chalfont St Giles), Wycombe and Solebury (spelled Soulbury in England). Buckingham was the former county town of Buckinghamshire; Buckingham, PA, (now called Bristol) was the county seat of Bucks County from 1705-1726. Chalfont St. Giles in Buckinghamshire was the parish home of William Penn's first wife, and the location of the Jordans Quaker Meeting House, where Penn is buried.
Bucks County was originally much huger than it is today. Northampton County was created by in 1752 from part of Bucks County, and Lehigh County was created by in 1812 from part of Northampton County.
In December 1776, Bucks County became the setting for Gen. George Washington and his troops as they prepare yourselfd to cross the Delaware and storm Trenton, New Jersey on Christmas Day. The attack caught the Hessian army by surprise and would represent a turning point in the American War of Independence. The town of Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania and Washington Crossing Historic Park were named to commemorate the event. The executive government is run by a three-seat Board of Commissioners, one member of which serves as chairperson. Commissioners are elected through at-huge voting and serve four-year terms. In cases of vacancy, a panel of county judges appoints members to fill seats.
The current commissioners are Charles H. Martin (R) (Chairman), James F. Cawley (R) (Vice-Chairman), and Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia (D). The current terms expire at the end of 2012. M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 film Signs, starring Mel Gibson, was filmed and takes place in Bucks County. The town scenes, in particular, were filmed on State Street in Newtown Borough, the drugstore scene was filmed at Burns' Pharmacy on Pennsylvania Avenue in Morrisville. The house was built on farmland privately owned and leased to Delaware Valley College in Doylestown Township, Pennsylvania. A stage set for some interior shots was developed in a warehouse on State Road in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania. Shyamalan's film, Lady in the Water, was shot across the street from the Bloomsdale section of Bristol Township. With the exception of the Pine Barrens footage, all of The Last Broadcast was shot in Bucks County (though the name was changed).