The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1920-10-01
HISTORY OF
BOWMAN'S HILL
The Story of New Hopes
Beginning
By DR.. j. E. SCOTT.

read before the Bucks County His
torical Society by Dr. J. E Scott, of
New Hope, on Tuesday, May 9th, in
the Thompson Memorial Presbyterian
Church, Brownsburg.
As one travels along the Delaware
river, noted in song and story for its
quiet, romantic beauty and for it's
sparkling, crystal clear water, one of
the objects that most deeply impresses
and attracts the traveller is "Bowmans
! Hill" 1t may be seen for many miles
from almost any direction; and from
whatever angle it is viewed, it is con-
spicuous and beautiful.
One is impressed with the thought
that some prehistoric race of giants
must have piled up this huge elongat-
ed pyramid as a monument to some
ancient king, greater than Cheops OF
Suphis.
Upon what stirring scenes in nature
this old hill must have looked down,
and of what great commissions of ma
ture it must have been part. 1t was
hoary with age when Adam and Eve
met the serpent in Eden, and has
changed but little since the day when
the mastodon and pterodactyl sported
in the waters that bathed it's base.
Its contour, when taken in connec-
ton with other formations in the
neighborhood would lead US to believe
that at one time it formed part of
the rim of great inland lake, and
that in some great CONFUSION of Ma
ture it was burst asunder and that
since then the Delaware has flowed
unfettered to the sea. But we are
content to leave the question OF geo.
| logical formation to those who are
able to read the riddle of the rocks.
For centuries of its history the Ia
dian was in undisputed possession of
it and it's surroundings and, we are
told that the red man fingered in
| this immediate vicinity until his breth-
rem of the surrounding country had
removed their tepees farther to the
westward.
1t is very probable that this hill was
first beheld by the eyes of white men
in the year 1916 when three romantic
! and adventuresome Germans set out
from Nassau, now Albany, N. Y,
crossed the wilds of northern New
Jersey, struck the upper reaches of
the Delaware, down whose current
they drifted to the mouth of the
Schuylkill.
/ What must have been their excla-
nation as they fioated down, to see
this seeming barrier stretching for
biddingly athwart their pathway
/ Exploration and settlement of this
region did not begin till many years
later. There were some struggling
settlements along either side of the
lower Delaware soon after the middle
of the century; but nothing definite
and durable was done until after Will
liam Penn had consummated his no
table purchase from the English king.
PENIS innate sense of justice i'm
PEELED him to buy the land from the
| Indians, the rightful owners, as well
| as from the king, the technical posses
sor
The first purchase of what is now
| Bucks county was made in 1852. This
! had for its northern limits a line ex-
tending from a spruce tree, one hun
dred aud four reds north of the mouth
1 of what was arterward called Knowles
creek-thence along the foot of Jerico
| mountain, through the edge of what is
now the village of Wrightstown to the
| Neshaminy creek. For this land the
Indians were paid some wampum,
some blankets, guns, beads, kettles
and trinkets.
1t is alleged that treaty was made
with the Indians in 1886 by which a
body of land lying to the northward
| of the line from the spruce tree,
which stood by the river little be-
low the present Brownsburg school
house. and extended to the Neshami-
nv, was acquired. There is nothing
recorded to substantiate this claim,
and the fact that it was acquired by
the walking purchase of 1877 would
seem to dispose of the claim.
THE MANOR OF HIGHLANDS
Notwithstanding these facts, in
the year 1895 one Thomas Holme
laid out tract on the Delaware OF
1900 acres for William Penn, to be
known as the "Propietary's Manor
of Highlands" Upon this tract set
Element was not encouraged. The
southern boundary of these lands was
probably what is now known as the
Pineville road, road leading from
Taylorsville to the Eagle. 1t extend
ed westward into Wrightstown town
shin and it's northern boundary was
in Solebury, possibly joining the
grant to Robert Heath, who acquir-
ed 1000 acres covering the site of
New Hope in 1900. Thus we see
that all of the land in this immedl-
ate neighborhood was once a part Oh
William PENIS personal holdings.
The London Company purchased oooo
were surveyed to them in 1909. This
mrchase also probably covered all OF