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The
rural village of Carversville was a Lenni Lenape gathering place
which they called Aquetong, or "many springs", over 300 years ago
when William Penn granted tracts to his steward, James Harrison,
and to Joseph Pike. Harrison, who never saw the property, deeded
his 500 acres to Randall Blackshaw and the Pike tract was divided into
four 100-acre parcels.
The village was first surveyed in 1702 after families
had begun arriving on horseback. By 1730 roads had been cut
into the forests so settlers could haul out wool and farm
produce and bring in lumber that was being rafted down the
Delaware River from Upper Pennsylvania.
Originally called Indian
Village, the town was later named Mill Town, later Milton and finally,
in 1833, Carversville. The latter name was borrowed from the
postmaster whose last name was Carver.
A center of commerce from its inception, Carversville boasted such
diverse enterprises as Stovers Mill, the Fretz Mill, the Carver
Mill, the Suggin Bag manufactory, a sash and blind mill and the
famous Roram Hat factory.
In 1859 the Excelsior Normal Institute was founded on
the hill overlooking the Village. The five-story stone building
became a well-known school which turned out scholars until it fell
on hard times in the late 19th century. Until its demise, students
could peer down at the thriving village served by stagecoaches
from the railroads at Doylestown and nearby Bull's Island, N.J.,
just three miles away. When the teaching ended, the pleasure began
as the building became a resort. Its lifespan , too, was
short-lived. The final use for the property was as the
Carversville Christian Orphanage. The building was razed in the
mid 1900s, but its legacy is intact thanks to the doting research
of it present tenant, Edwin "Ned" Harrington, the Village's
official historian.
Small businesses flourished in the Village Square, including
two general stores ( one of which is occupied by renowned toy
expert Noel Barrett today), a creamery, an ice cream parlor, two
gas stations, a dance hall, a hotel, a blacksmith, wheelwright,
barber, saddler, harness maker, tinsmith, woodworkers and house
builders.
Today, the Village thrives commercially still. The
General Store
operates out of the former Carversville Garage, once the stables
for the adjacent Carversville Inn. It is the focal point of the
community for food, coffee, newspaper, and conversation (i.e..
local gossip). The Hotel--now the
Carversville Inn--is a popular
and well-respected restaurant--and local watering hole. Its rooms,
however, are apartments now.
The Presbyterian Church, founded in 1872 has disbanded;
the building is now a private home. The older Christian Church
(1838) still serves the spiritual and social needs of many of the
villagers.
There is one antique shop and furniture repair
business and a dentist. Artists of many different disciplines pepper the area
making Carversville culturally unique.
Carversville is a prime example of a 19th Century
farming community and this earned it National Register of Historic
Places status from the Department of Interior in 1979. Officially,
the Village became "historic". Carversville was one of the first
districts to be so honored and it is now under the protection of
federal, state and local laws that regulate changes made to any
building which may destroy its historic value.
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