Named for the tumbling rapids coursing through the nearby Delaware River, Fallsington,PA, was…read morefounded in the late 17th Century by members of the Religious Society of Friends, a/k/a The Quakers. In those early days it was a very small village alongside The King's Road between the major pre-revolutionary centers of Trenton, NJ and Philadelphia. It thrived economically, providing wares and services in demand in those colonial decades, including blacksmiths, carpenters, carriage builders, wheelwrights and taverns for weary travelers. By the middle of the 20th Century, Bucks County was growing to such an extent that the historic core of this community was being threatened by outside development for homes and businesses wanting to cater to the expanding population. A group of dedicated Quakers in the area determined to protect the historic and cultural qualities of the region were able to secure financing and legislation to form the non-profit Historic Fallsington organization, which has done an excellent job preserving the original village and surrounding neighborhoods as they were from the 17th - 20th Centuries. It has become a living museum, complete with taverns, restaurants, shops and services that attract history buffs and tourists alike, who appreciate what a truly historically accurate community looked and felt like. This isn't Williamsburg, VA, that has been gussied up by the Rockefeller Foundation, but rather a much more low budget, but perhaps more authentic representation of our early American history. You are welcome to walk around town any day, and sample the goods, foods and other services still available to you. However, if you want a guided tour, they are only offered between May and October by the Historic Fallsington NGO. For those of us living nearby, this is one of the Crown Jewels of the early story of the Pennsylvania Colony and the birth of the nation. It is well worth your time.

What a wonderful treat to stop down the street and come across this grand white building…read more Traveling down this way wasn't as planned, but it gave me the chance to learn about this area! There is a historical Fallsington information Center, and it's filled with books and documentation and many historical things ! You can pick up a walking tour brochure for one dollar then take a stroll for about a mile! This area is filled with beautiful stone buildings with beautiful little gardens everything is kept up so nicely it's a treat for the eyes! I'm here now and I'm enjoying the cicada singing while looking at all the goods in this little shop and then just enjoying the local atmosphere it's so Instagram worthy! Great for a nice walk with a friend imagine yourself living here back in the old days! What a treat to enjoy these days! Next month there Will be a local event where people dress up and there will be music and other things to enjoy from local artisans. I look forward to coming back again and again I bought a wonderful book about the local history of this area. As well as some beautiful postcards of the old houses here that friends from far away might enjoy seeing this type of America! There's also a shop next-door that sells some antiques but mostly adorable little traditional items, little sets with tea bags, ($1.50, cute greeting cards, handmade/drawn cards of stone buildings, little gift sets with nice soaps and lots of little treats! Worth the visit!

This was a neat little house/museum that I hadn't heard of but was just randomly looking up things…read moreto do in the area and found it. It's right next to Princeton's campus and the Battle of Trenton Memorial. My husband is a big fan of all the Signers of the Declaration, and unlike a more restored house about the people who owned the house, it focuses on the Stockton family who lived here and the American Revolution and a special exhibit. We were actually here for a few hours since there's a lot of signs to read and a lot of Richard Stocktons who lived in the house, followed by some governors. When I went, there was also a really interesting exhibit on Ma Bell and the history of telecommunications upstairs. This was a great historical site, a cheap price, and a nice space. Would love to come back when the garden is in bloom, and I will look out for future exhibitions as they rotate in.

I was fortunate to be able to go when they were offering a cream tea which I can highly recommend…read more It was quite wonderful. The tour was interesting and ok but with limited things to see. There was information about some Stockton family members who lived there but would have liked to have more broad information. The house is quite beautiful and the garden is very nice. I did enjoy the visit but the cream tea was really the best.

The Old Library by Lake Afton dates from 1878. It currently houses the Yardley Historical…read moreAssociation, which maintains the building. Architecturally, the building's style is "carpenter Gothic" with a steep gable roof, decorative slate work, and pointed arched windows. It could be mistaken for a country chapel sitting alongside Lake Afton. The Old Library is a perfect spot for community events, and it may be rented for meetings and special occasions. It's interior layout consists of one large room with a restroom.

I'm so glad I had to be here right now!…read more I was happy to get a grand tour. Such a gorgeous building and everything is so beautiful beautifully displayed!! Seats are very comfortable. And I'm so grateful to the hospitality of the staff here. I got to ask lots of questions and I was well cared for!!

Beautiful, clean, quiet library in an old large home. Meticulously decorated. Plenty of space to…read moresit and read or research.

An old library book, Gardens of Philadelphia, made me aware of Highlands Mansion, and…read morecoincidentally friends wanted to have a play date at Kids Castle, so on our way home we checked out Highlands. The mansion is apparently under restoration so I did not tour it, but I did see the gardens. While these gardens are nothing compared to the scale of the Brandywine DuPont estates, they are impressive for a former private residence. The most remarkable thing about them, to me, is their use of dramatic tall freestanding walls. Designers seem to agree that the best tool for success in landscaping is creating outdoor "rooms" or dedicated areas with hedged/fenced/walled/etc. boundaries to delineate and discern one outdoor space from another. I've toured many gardens domestic and abroad and I've never seen such a liberal use of wall structures that were apparently built solely for ornamental landscaping purposes (as opposed to ruins or retaining walls). Yes, you see decorative walls employed at Longwood and Chanticleer, but none so gigantic as these. Highlands was working with flat plain meadow and the goal seemed to be to create multiple garden-framed large lawn spaces, free of tree debris or too much shade to affect the grass. The walls are designed to tower as high as ornamental trees, but without the maintenance, root issues, leaf drop, etc. and they green-ify these walls with ivy trained all over them. Voila, vertical garden, architectural interest, height, and allowance for terrain diversification. I grew up adjacent to the trove of magnificent DuPont estates in the Brandywine Valley. I'm now fortunate to live 2 1/2 mi from Chanticleer and 7 1/2mi from Tyler Arboretum (Jenkins is closer but it doesn't appeal to me). I would recommend the destinations closer to me for full day visits, while Highlands gardens would only take a half hour for the formal area, and more if you choose to hike a trail or tour the manse. Still, it may be a half-day visit at most. While not a day trip destination on its own, it is a worthy stop if in the area, and I do recommend it to anyone interested in garden design who's already toured the others I mentioned. This is also an event venue, and the formal space is certainly made for such use, so it's lovely people can enjoy the space as it was intended when conceived.

While the mansion is still undergoing renovations so we were not able to include that and so my…read morereview may change in the future. Don't expect to take even a full afternoon visiting but it is a lovely preserved estate around the city. There's some goats, and the grounds are enjoyable to take an hour or so to walk with nice historical signs for context. There is some parking but it likely gets packed in high traffic times. I can't put it in my top gardens available for Philadelphia, it's good to have treasures like these to keep the sense of history and love of horticulture the area has long held.

William Penn with license from the King of England purchased the land that became known as Bucks…read moreCounty and Newtown in 1682 from the indigenous Lenape people. A self styled urban planner for his day, Penn laid out his "New Town," around the primary water source that was ultimately named Newtown Creek. His concept of a circular village surrounding the water, with every landholder possessing a piece of the creek bank, expanding from their to create pasture for farm animals and beyond that, room for the modest homes that Quakers demanded, was a good one, but failed to consider the coming industrialization of mills and small cottage industries that required unlimited energy to produce their wares. So, it became rational to sell off the water access along the creek to build the races and waterwheels that powered early manufacturing and milling. By the end of the 18th Century, all but one parcel had been sold off and the grazing of sheep, horses and cattle moved farther afield. That remaining land was neglected until nearly the present day, and became a dumping ground for unwanted waste. Concerned citizens finally organized a non-profit, the Newtown Creek Coalition, to try to save, maintain, enhance and preserve Billy Penn's dream. They succeeded in securing grants to fund reparations to the Newtown Creek banks, repair the granite marker installed in the 1930s, and sponsor seasonal creek cleanups under the sponsorship of local businesses who saw value in restoring community history, which was rich in American lore. (Yes. George Washington headquartered here after the first Battle of Trenton, but before the Battle of Princeton and the second Battle of Trenton.) All that remains is .16 acre at the bottom of Greene Street at the creek. There is a stone marker embedded in the patch of grass on the small flat plain in the meandering Creek bed that separates Newtown Township from Borough. It is picturesque and deserving of your time on your walking tour of this near-ancient community. William Penn may have misunderstood what the future held, but he sure selected a beautiful bucolic spot to be wrong.

The only way this place could be better is if it was open more. It's a direct link to…read morepre-america, and was the place the battle of trenton was likely planned. You can stop in for a tour on the first Saturday of every month, and most months, the third Saturday as well. The House is original, dating to roughly 1765, and housed George Washington for the week, from December 8th to the 14th, 1776, as Washington wavered between heading to Philadelphia or turning north on the offensive. When leaving he turned north, crossed the river at Washington Crossing and turned the tide of the American Revolution. The best idea of Pre-America likely happened here for Washington. Could you have a great idea too?

The Lower Trenton Bridge is a pretty boring bridge that spans the Delaware River and connects New…read moreJersey and Pennsylvania. Originally constructed in 1806, it has been rebuilt a few times since then and is currently a five-span truss bridge that was completed in 1928. No longer a toll bridge (What? No way!), it is the southernmost free crossing of the Delaware River. In 1935, the words "TRENTON MAKES THE WORLD TAKES" were added to the bridge in large letters. In 2005, it was upgraded with high-efficiency neon lighting. The saying was coined in 1910 as a slogan for the city. Though these days, Trenton is definitely no longer the industrial and manufacturing powerhouse it was then. [Review 11529 overall, 1309 of 2019.]

New Jersey... my old stomping grounds! I grew up around Trenton and feel nostalgic when I visit…read morethe area! The Trenton Makes Bridge is over 100 years old! It reminds me of an old erector set of yesteryear. I love the mint green color, the famous logo on the side and the detailed construction. Most bridges give me the heebie-jeebies, but not this one. It's rather small and unassuming compared to their big, scary counterparts. This is a two-laned bridge separated by a median wall which makes travel easier and safer. It goes by fast, but I love looking at the trusses as we drive under it! Save a toll and take a minute to soak in this historic landmark! They don't make them like this anymore. I gave an extra star for the longevity of this is Jersey structure!