Northampton Twp, Bucks County, PA
Located in Bucks County and just twelve miles northeast of Philadelphia in Northampton Township is a convenient suburban town known as Holland. The large municipality spans over 26 square miles in the heart of Bucks County, and is home to approximately 39,000 residents. Officially incorporated in 1722, the township is believed to have been named after Northamptonshire, England after being settled by English colonists accompanying William Penn. Holland is a part of Northampton Township which consists of the following unincorporated communities and census-designated places: Churchville, Holland, Richboro, and Village Shires.
Holland, the core of which is situated at the junction of Ironworks and Mill Creek, was originally known as Rocksville due to the rocky banks of Mill Creek situated alongside it. Rocksville was renamed to Holland in 1870 with the building of a postal office due to the many Dutch settlers in the area who settled in 17th and 18th century. A gristmill and a general store were operated at the core of Holland by the Finney family. The general store has been converted to a restaurant now know as Johnny Apples, while the gristmill was renovated into Mill Race Inn. The gristmill was powered by the Mill Creek dam which eventually collapsed after torrential rains in 2001. The building currently stands in a dilapidated state as township residents push for it’s revitalization. Despite its proximity to Philadelphia, Holland was rural for much of its history.
The majority of homes in Northampton Township use the mailing addresses of Holland, Ivyland, Churchville and Richboro. Northampton Township is largely residential, but located just a couple of minutes from major shopping centers, highways and the historic town of Newtown as well as close proximity to Philadelphia and Trenton/Princeton, NJ area, making it a desirable location. A building boom in the 1970s resulted in a significant increase in housing capacity replacing the large tracts of farmland, mainly in the form of large tract housing developments. Since then, the town has seen additional growth, becoming a prototypical commuter bedroom community for suburban families.
Holland is located in the award winning Council Rock School District, and is home to several of the district’s schools: Council Rock High School South, Holland Middle School, Holland Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, and Rolling Hills Elementary. Holland is also home to several private Catholic schools: Villa Joseph Marie High School, an all-girls school, and St Katharine Drexel Regional Catholic School, affiliated with St Bede the Venerable Parish.
The township is also located near plenty or park and recreational opportunities. Tyler State Park is located within Northampton, as well as Churchville Park, Springfield Lake, and Northampton Golf Club. Several parks exist with in Northampton Township. The largest is Tyler State Park which sits on 1,711 acres of parkland and offers trails for biking, hiking and horse back riding as well as several athletic fields, playgrounds, a disc golf course and canoe rentals. The other two main parks are Churchville Nature Center and the Northampton Township Municipal Park. Churchville Nature Center is one of the three nature centers of the Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation. The nature center offers two miles of hiking trails on its 55-acre nature preserve located adjacent to the Churchville Reservoir.
source: Wikipedia
