Bristol Township

Bristol Township municipal offices are located at 2501 Bath Road, Bristol PA 19007; phone: 215-785-0500.

The first European settlers in Bristol Township were the Swedes and Dutch. They were followed by Quakers who became the primary inhabitants of the area for the next century. Formerly known as Buckingham, and then New Bristol, the township was officially named Bristol in 1720. The infamous Bloomsdale Ferry (1770-1840) and Ferry House (used by Aaron Burr on his flight south after murdering Alexander Hamilton) played an important role in the Revolutionary War in late 1776. It was located just north of Bristol Borough.

Bristol Township today retains vestiges of two historic villages, Edgely and Newportville. Edgely was initially named Cold Spring; it was a station stop on the PRR New York division, the was home to Pennsylvania's First Baptist Church in 1684, and location of the D. Landreth Seed company established in 1784, one of the oldest in the U.S. Originally named Neshaminy (for its location along the creek of the same name), Newportville (intersection of New Falls and Newportville Roads) grew around and inn and a tavern.

Bolton Mansion (a National Register of Historic Places resource known also as the Phineas Pemberton house) is located in the township (Holly Hill section of Levittown.)