Bensalem Township

Bensalem Township municipal offices are located at 2400 Byberry Road, Bensalem PA 19020; phone: 215-633-3600.

Bensalem spreads over 21 square miles and can be thought of as a buffer township between Philadelphia on the West and the rest of Bucks County on the East and Northeast. The township is traversed by four major roadways: Interstate 95, U.S. Route 13, (aka Bristol Pike), U.S. Route 1 (aka Lincoln Highway) the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Historic records indicate the original name of the township was "Salem." Some suggest that the name meant "hill of peace" or "peaceful mount"; others, that it meant "son of peace".

National Register Historic Sites include the Biddle Mansion (Andalusia, a national historic landmark), Little Jerusalem African Methodist Episcopal Church, Saint Elizabeth Convent, and Trevose Manor.

The Dutch, the Swedes and the English, as a study of the names of the early residents will show settled Bensalem Township. Among the Dutch were such names as Van Bandit, Van der Grift, Van Kirk and Van Artsdalen. These names, in this new country under the English became Vansant, Vandergrift or Vandegrift, Vankirk and if you look, you will find these names in local phone books. Among the English names that show up in the old records of Bensalem Township are Allen, Baldwin, Williams, Gibbs, Reed and many others.

Source: Township of Bensalem