Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Founding

Bucks County is one of the three original counties created by colonial proprietor William Penn in 1682. Penn named the county after Buckinghamshire, the county where he lived in England. He built a country estate called Pennsbury Manor in Falls Township, Bucks County.

Some places in Bucks County were named after locations in Buckinghamshire, including Buckingham Township, named after the county town of Buckinghamshire; Chalfont, named after Chalfont St Giles, the parish home of William Penn's first wife and the location of the Jordans Quaker Meeting House, where Penn is buried; Solebury Township, named after Soulbury, England; and Wycombe, named after the town of High Wycombe.

Bucks County was originally much larger than it is today. Northampton County was formed in 1752 from part of Bucks County, and Lehigh County was formed in 1812 from part of Northampton County.

Revolutionary War

General George Washington and his troops camped in Bucks County as they prepared to cross the Delaware River to take Trenton, New Jersey, by surprise on the morning of December 26, 1776. Their successful attack on Britain's Hessian forces was a turning point in the American War of Independence. The town of Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania and Washington Crossing Historic Park were named to commemorate the event.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 622 square miles (1,610 km²), of which 604 square miles (1,560 km²) is land and 18 square miles (47 km²) (2.8%) is water.

The southern third of the county between Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey, often called Lower Bucks, resides in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and is flat and near sea level, and the county's most populated and industrialized area. Bucks County shares a western border with Montgomery County, and also borders Philadelphia to the southwest, and Northampton and Lehigh Counties to the north. From north to south, it is linked to Warren, Hunterdon, Mercer and Burlington Counties in New Jersey by bridges.

Tohickon Creek and Neshaminy Creek are the largest tributaries of the Delaware in Bucks County. Tohickon Creek empties into the river at Point Pleasant and Neshaminy at Croydon (Bristol Township).

Adjacent counties

Lehigh County (northwest)

Northampton County (north)

Warren County, New Jersey (northeast)

Hunterdon County, New Jersey (northeast)

Mercer County, New Jersey (east)

Burlington County, New Jersey (southeast)

Philadelphia County (south)

Montgomery County (west)

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 625,249 people. The population density was 1,034.7 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 86.6% White non-Hispanic, 3.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 4.1% Asian (2.1% Indian, 1.1% Chinese, 0.7% Korean, 0.5% Filipino, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.1% Japanese, 0.4% other Asian) 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.7% were of two or more races, and 1.5% were of other races. 4.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census of 2000, there were 218,725 households, and 160,981 families residing in the county. There were 225,498 housing units at an average density of 371 per square mile (143/km²). 20.1% were of German, 19.1% Irish, 14.0% Italian, 7.5% English and 5.9% Polish ancestry, according to Census 2000.

There were 218,725 households, out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.20% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.70% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $59,727, and the median income for a family is $68,727. Males had a median income of $46,587 versus $31,984 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,430. About 3.10% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.80% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.

Like the rest of the Philadelphia region, Bucks County has experienced a rapid increase of immigrants since the 2000 census. Known for its very large and established Eastern European population, most notably the Russian community, but also for its Ukrainian and Polish communities, Bucks County is now seeing a rapid surge of other immigrant groups. A 2005 population estimate of Bucks showed that the Indian and Mexican populations had already doubled since 2000. Bucks County is one of only two counties in Pennsylvania where Mexicans are the largest Hispanic community, the other being Montgomery County. Bucks County also is home to large and very prominent Roman Catholic and Jewish populations.

Population growth

The 2013 population estimate of Bucks County Pennsylvania was 626,976. This ranked the county fourth in the state, well behind (more than 10%) the counties of Philadelphia with 1,553,165 (247% of Bucks), Allegheny with 1,231,527 (196%), Montgomery with 812,376 (130%), and well ahead of Delaware with 561,973 (89.6%).

Growth began in the early 1950s, when William Levitt chose Bucks County for his second "Levittown". Levitt bought hundreds of acres of woodlands and farmland, and constructed 17,000 homes and dozens of schools, parks, libraries, and shopping centers. By the time the project ended, the population of Levittown had swelled to almost 74,000 residents. At the time, only whites could buy homes. This rule however, was soon overturned. Other planned developments included Croydon and Fairless Hills. This rapid sprawl continued until the mid-1960s.

In the 1970s, a second growth spurt began. This time, developers took land in townships that were mostly untouched. These included Middletown, Lower Makefield Township, Northampton Township and Newtown Township. Tract housing, office complexes, shopping centers, and sprawling parking lots continued to move more and more towards Upper Bucks, swallowing horse farms, sprawling forests, and wetlands. At this time, the Oxford Valley Mall was constructed in Middletown, which would become the business nucleus of the county.

Growth has somewhat stabilized since the 1990s, with smaller increases and less development. However, the main reason for this is not a lack of population growth, but loss of land. Lower Bucks now lacks large parcels of land to develop. Smaller residential and commercial projects must now be constructed. However, redevelopment is now a leading coalition in Lower Bucks. Many areas along the Delaware River have surpluses of abandoned industry, so many municipalities have granted building rights to luxury housing developers. Also, as the regions that began the suburban boom in Bucks, such as Levittown, begin to reach their 50th anniversaries, many commercial strips and other neglected structures are being torn down to be replaced with new shopping plazas and commercial chains. Also, with rising property values, areas with older construction are beginning to have a "rebirth". At the same time, Central and Upper Bucks are still seeing rapid growth, with many municipalities doubling their populations.

Economy

The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by William Levitt.

Among Bucks' largest employers in the twentieth century were U.S. Steel in Falls Township, and the Vulcanized Rubber & Plastics and Robertson Tile companies in Morrisville. Rohm and Haas continues to operate several chemical plants around Bristol. Waste Management operates a landfill in Tullytown that is the largest receptacle of out-of-state waste in the USA (receiving much of New York City's waste following the closure of Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island, NY 40 miles (64 km) away).

Bucks is also experiencing rapid growth in biotechnology, along with neighboring Montgomery County. The Greater Philadelphia area has become the second largest area of biotechnology in the United States, only behind Boston. It recently pushed San Francisco and Washington, D.C. to lower rankings. It is projected by 2020 that one out of four people in Bucks County will work in biotechnology.

List of notable Bucks County businesses

21st Century Media

Alpha Card Services

Burpee Seeds

Byers' Choice Ltd.

Carson Helicopters

CenTrak

Charming Shoppes

EGames (video game developer)

EPAM Systems

GE Betz

Hank's Root Beer

IPREPpress

KannaLife

Keystone Aircraft

V. La Rosa and Sons Macaroni Company

Lehigh Defense

M&C Specialties

Questar Corporation

West Coast Video

Windowizards

Tourism

Another important asset of the county is tourism. The county's northern regions (colloquially referred to as Upper Bucks) are renowned for their natural scenery, farmland, colonial history, and proximity to major urban areas (particularly Philadelphia, but New York City, Allentown, Reading and Atlantic City are also within a two-hour radius).

Bucks County is home to ten covered bridges that are still open to vehicular traffic. Two other bridges, both located in parks, are open only to non-vehicular traffic. All Bucks County bridges use the Town truss design. The Schofield Ford Bridge, in Tyler State Park, was reconstructed in 1997 from the ground up after arsonists destroyed the original in 1991.

Popular attractions in Bucks County include the shops and studios of New Hope, Peddler's Village (in Lahaska), Washington Crossing Historic Park, New Hope and Ivyland Railroad , and Bucks County River Country. Rice's Market near Lahaska is a popular destination on Tuesday mornings. Quakertown Farmer's Market (locally called "Q-Mart") is a popular shopping destination on weekends. The county seat of Doylestown is also home to several points of interest for tourists, and also is home to Fordhook Farms, the famous trial farm of the Warminster-based Burpee Seeds, which also serves as a bed & breakfast inn. Doylestown also has the trifecta of concrete structures built by Henry Chapman Mercer, including the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, the Mercer Museum and Fonthill, Mercer's personal home.

Southern Bucks (colloquially referred to as Lower Bucks) is home to two important shopping centers, Neshaminy Mall and Oxford Valley Mall, and Sesame Place, a family theme park based on the Sesame Street television series. Also within Lower Bucks County is the newly constructed Parx Casino in Bensalem. The casino was built on the grounds of the Philadelphia Park Racetrack, a renowned horse-racing park. The complex includes the expansive casino, a dance club, and numerous dining options. The complex will soon include a shopping district, and 1200+ housing units. Parx is soon expected to rival the casinos in nearby Atlantic City.

Public school districts

Bensalem Township School District

Bristol Borough School District

Bristol Township School District

Centennial School District

Central Bucks School District

Council Rock School District

Morrisville Borough School District

Neshaminy School District

New Hope-Solebury School District

Palisades School District

Pennridge School District

Pennsbury School District

Quakertown Community School District

Souderton Area School District (also in Montgomery County)

The Bucks County public schools listed above are served by a regional educational service agency called the Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22 located in the county seat of Doylestown.

Public charter schools

There are 11 public cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania that are available for free statewide, to children K–12. See: Education in Pennsylvania.

Bucks County Montessori Charter School

Center Student Learning Charter School – Pennsbury

School Lane Charter School

Fine and performing arts

Many artists and writers based in New York City have called Bucks County home, settling mainly in the small stretch between Doylestown and New Hope and along the Delaware River. Notable residents have included Margaret Mead, Pearl S. Buck, Oscar Hammerstein, II, Stephen Sondheim, Charlie Parker, Moss Hart, George S. Kaufman, James Michener, Dorothy Parker, S. J. Perelman, Stan and Jan Berenstain, Daniel Garber, Alfred Bester, Annie Haslam, and Jean Toomer. Bucks County has been the home of writer/musician James McBride, Academy Award-winning film composer Joe Renzetti, musician Gene Ween of Ween, painter Christopher Wajda, photographer Michael Barone, and furniture designer George Nakashima. James Gould Cozzens lived in Lambertville, New Jersey, just across the river from Bucks County, and used Doylestown as the model for the setting of two novels; he is considered a Bucks County artist.

The county boasts many local theater companies, including the long-established and recently reopened Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Town and Country Players in Buckingham, ActorsNET in Morrisville, and the Bristol Riverside Theatre, a professional Equity theater in Bristol. The Bucks County Symphony, founded in 1953, performs in Doylestown throughout the year.

The Wild River Review, an online magazine that publishes in-depth reporting, works of literature, art, visual art, reviews, interviews, and columns by and about contemporary artists, photographers, and writers, is based out of Doylestown.

Literature

The seemingly autobiographical novel The Fires of Spring by James Michener takes place in and around Doylestown.

Popular culture

Alecia Moore, more commonly known as Pink, was born in Doylestown, as was motion picture writer and director Stefan Avalos. Three American Idol contestants live in Bucks County: Justin Guarini, who was born in Atlanta, but moved to Bucks County; Jordan White, who was born in Cranford, New Jersey and moved to Bucks County, and Anthony Fedorov, who was born in Ukraine and was from Trevose, in Lower Southampton Township. Singer/actress Irene Molloy and classical tenor David Gordon were born in Doylestown. Musician Asher Roth was born in Morrisville. The Tony Award-winning Broadway play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is set in the county.

Film

M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 film Signs, starring Mel Gibson, was filmed and takes place in Bucks County. The town scenes were filmed on State Street in Newtown Borough, and the drugstore scene was filmed at Burns' Pharmacy on Pennsylvania Avenue in Morrisville. The house was built on farmland privately owned and leased to Delaware Valley College in Doylestown Township. A stage set for some interior shots was created in a warehouse on State Road in Bensalem Township. Shyamalan's film Lady in the Water was shot across the street from the Bloomsdale section of Bristol Township. In addition, Shyamalan's 2008 film, The Happening, was filmed in Upper Bucks County, including Plumsteadville.

With the exception of the footage filmed in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, all of The Last Broadcast was shot in Bucks County (though the name was changed).

A short scene from Stephen King's The Stand is based in Pipersville.

The producer Fred Bauer, the director Steve Rash and composer Joseph Renzetti of The Buddy Holly Story all live in Bucks County, where the film was conceived, and written by Bob Gittler.

Although filmed in California, one of Steven Spielberg's earliest films, Something Evil, is set in Bucks County.

The film Law Abiding Citizen, starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, was filmed partially in New Hope.

The NBC pilot episode for Outlaw, starring Jimmy Smits, filmed in the Andalusia section of Bensalem Township March 22–23, 2010.

The feature film The Discoverers was filmed in a variety of locations in Bucks County, including Croydon, Bristol, Newtown, New Hope, and Tyler State Park.

The Central Bucks West football team was followed during the 1999 season for the documentary The Last Game. It was directed by T. Patrick Murray and Alex Weinress.

The County Fair scene in Charlotte's Web was filmed at the Southampton Days fair in Southampton, Bucks County.

The majority of the independent Titanic film The Last Signals by Tom Lynskey was filmed in Bucks County.

The 1942 film George Washington Slept Here was set chiefly in Bucks County, although most of the filming took place in the studio.

Safe, starring Jason Statham, filmed at the Parx Casino and Racing in Bensalem Township.

Bucks County has been mentioned multiple times on the popular Freeform TV series Pretty Little Liars.

Media

Local publications include Bucks County Courier Times, The Intelligencer, The Advance of Bucks County, Bucks County Herald, Bucks County Town and Country Living, LifeStyle Magazine, Nouveau, "Radius Magazine", Latitude Magazine" and BUCKS Magazine.

Rugby league

The Bucks County Sharks rugby league team played in the AMNRL from 1997 to 2010 season. They returned to play in the AMNRL in 2011, until the league's fold in 2014, when they subsequently joined the USARL.

Little League

The county has a considerable history of producing Little League baseball contenders. Since its inception in 1947, four of the seven Pennsylvania teams to compete in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania have come from Bucks County: Morrisville (1955), Levittown American (1960 and 1961), and Council Rock-Newtown (2005). Two of these squads, Morrisville and Levittown (1960), went on to win the World Series title. In 2007, Council Rock Northampton won the PA State championship, and lost in the finals of regionals.

PIAA

The county is a part of PIAA's District I, and has seen many schools capture multiple state titles.

American Legion Baseball

In 1996, Yardley Western Post 317 won the American Legion National Championship.

Bristol Legion Post 382 recently won the 2011 American Legion State Championship.

Horse racing

Parx Casino and Racing (formerly Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Keystone Racetrack), formerly the home of Triple Crown contender Smarty Jones, is in Bensalem.

Pennsylvania state parks

There are six commonwealth-owned parks in Bucks County:

Five are owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks, part of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

Delaware Canal State Park

Neshaminy State Park

Nockamixon State Park

Ralph Stover State Park

Tyler State Park

Bucks County Parks and Recreation operates an 18-bed youth hostel in the Nockamixon State Park Weisel estate. The hostel is part of Hostelling International USA.

Washington Crossing Historic Park, a 500 acres (200 ha) site operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, is part of Washington's Crossing, a U.S. National Historic Landmark area. The park is headquartered in the village of Washington Crossing located in Upper Makefield Township. It marks the location of where George Washington crossed the Delaware River during the American Revolutionary War.

Historic properties

County owned

Moravian Pottery and Tile Works

Stover-Myers Mill; Erwin Stover House

Moland House an old stone farmhouse built around 1750 located in Warwick Township, and served as the headquarters for General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War from August 10, 1777 until August 23, 1777.

Pennsbury Manor house and grounds, the American home of William Penn, founder and first Governor of Pennsylvania, administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in association with The Pennsbury Society and are open to the public.

County Nature Centers

Bucks County Audubon Society's Honey Hollow Environmental Education Center

Churchville Nature Center

Peace Valley Nature Center

Silver Lake Nature Center

Clark Nature Center

Airports

Public airports administered by the Bucks County Airport Authority

Doylestown Airport

Quakertown Airport, also a Civil Air Patrol facility

Van Sant Airport and Park, formerly owned and administered by the Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation

Private Airports

Pennridge Airport, owned by Pennridge Development Ent. Inc but open to public use for general aviation

Sterling Aviation Heliport, privately owned and public heliport and helicopter repair facility located in Croydon, PA next to Neshaminy State Park.

Public transportation

SEPTA – only parts of SE Bucks County

RUSHBUS – only parts of South and Central Bucks County

Bucks County Transport or BCT – a paratransit and shared ride service

Doylestown Dart provides public transportation around the Doylestown area.

Major highways

I-95

I-276 / Penna Turnpike

I-476 / Penna Turnpike NE Extension

US 1

US 1 Bus.

US 13

US 202

PA 32

PA 309

PA 611

Politics and government

As of January 2010, there are 430,557 registered voters in Bucks County.

Democratic: 191,567 (44.49%)

Republican: 176,517 (41.00%)

Other Parties: 62,473 (14.51%)

Like most of the Philadelphia suburbs, Bucks County was once a stronghold for the Republican Party. However, in recent years it has become more of a swing county, like Pennsylvania at large. In presidential elections, Bucks has been swept up in the overall Democratic trend that has swept the Philadelphia area, although the trend in Bucks has been somewhat less pronounced than in Delaware and Montgomery. It has gone Democratic in every presidential election since 1992.

Nonetheless, Republicans hold most county offices. As in most suburban Philadelphia counties, Republicans tend to be conservative on fiscal matters and moderate on social and environmental matters.

All four statewide winners (Barack Obama for President, Rob McCord for Treasurer, Jack Wagner for Auditor General, and Tom Corbett for Attorney General) carried Bucks in November 2008. Earlier in 2008, Democrats took a plurality of registered voters. The GOP statewide candidates in the 2010 midterms, Tom Corbett for Governor and Pat Toomey for Senate, both won Bucks.

Bucks County is represented in U.S. Congress by Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district. (map). While concerns about gerrymandering are on the rise, the 8th District remains one of the few districts in the United States that is almost fully encompassed by a single county. In order to comply with population requirements, the Bucks County-dominated 8th Congressional district also includes slightly over 100,000 residents of upper Montgomery County.

The executive government is run by a three-seat board of commissioners, one member of which serves as chairperson. Commissioners are elected through at-large voting and serve four-year terms. In cases of vacancy, a panel of county judges appoints members to fill seats. The current commissioners are Charles H. Martin (R) (Chairman), Robert G. Loughery (R) (Vice-Chairman), and Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia (D). The current terms expire in January 2016.

In 2012, four county employees were sentenced for compensating public employees for political work.

In the 2016 elections, Democrats Hillary Clinton (President), Josh Shapiro (Attorney General), and Joe Torsella (State Treasurer) won Bucks County while Republicans Pat Toomey (U.S. Senate), Brian Fitzpatrick (U.S. Representative), and John Brown (Auditor General) won Bucks County in theirs.

County commissioners

Charles Martin, Chairman, Republican

Robert G. Loughery, Republican

Diane Ellis-Marseglia, Democrat

State Senate

Robert M. Tomlinson, Republican, Pennsylvania's 6th Senatorial District

Chuck McIlhinney, Republican, Pennsylvania's 10th Senatorial District

Stewart J. Greenleaf, Republican, Pennsylvania's 12th Senatorial District

Bob Mensch, Republican, Pennsylvania's 24th Senatorial District

State House of Representatives

Gene DiGirolamo, Republican, Pennsylvania's 18th Representative District

Bernard T. O'Neill, Republican, Pennsylvania's 29th Representative District

Steve Santarsiero, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 31st Representative District

John Galloway, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 140th Representative District

Tina Davis, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 141st Representative District

Frank Farry, Republican, Pennsylvania's 142nd Representative District

Marguerite Quinn, Republican, Pennsylvania's 143rd Representative District

Katharine M. Watson, Republican, Pennsylvania's 144th Representative District

Paul Clymer, Republican, Pennsylvania's 145th Representative District

Scott A. Petri, Republican, Pennsylvania's 178th Representative District

United States House of Representatives

Mike Fitzpatrick, Republican, Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district

United States Senate

Pat Toomey, Republican

Bob Casey, Democrat

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The most populous borough in the county is Morrisville with 10,023 as of the 2000 census. The following boroughs and townships are located in Bucks County:

Census-designated places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Unincorporated communities

Erwinna

Fallsington

Point Pleasant

Southampton

Uhlerstown

Upper Black Eddy

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Bucks County.

† county seat

Notable people

Charles Albright, (1830–1880), United States Congressman; born in Bucks County

Lavoy Allen (1989–), NBA player for the Indiana Pacers

Stan and Jan Berenstain, writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book series The Berenstain Bears

Jacob Jennings Brown (1775 – 1828), Commanding General of the United States Army

Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973), author and Nobel Prize for Literature recipient; lived near Dublin in Hilltown Twp.

Sabrina Carpenter (1999–), actress in Girl Meets World

William Edgar Geil, Minister

Chad I Ginsburg, guitarist of CKY

Justin Guarini, singer/actor, and contestant on American Idol

Oscar Hammerstein, II, Oscar and Tony Award-winning writer, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) theatre director of musicals

Samuel Hartsel (1834–1918), Colorado ranching pioneer; born in Bucks County

Annie Haslam (1947–), lead singer of the progressive rock group Renaissance

Michael Hurley, singer and guitarist

Maureen Johnson (1973–), author of young adult fiction

Patrick Kerney, former NFL defensive lineman; grew up in Newtown

Richard Kind, actor, Spin City and Mad About You

Michael Levin (1984–2006), American-born Israeli soldier who died in the 2006 Lebanon War

James McBride, writer and musician whose compositions have been recorded by a variety of other musicians

Matthew McGurk, United States Army Officer; talent manager; music producer

Margaret Mead (1901–1978), anthropologist; raised near Doylestown

Henry Chapman Mercer (1856–1930), archaeologist, artifact collector, tile-maker, and designer of poured concrete structures; Doylestown resident

James Michener (1907–1997), author; Pulitzer Prize for Fiction recipient; lived in Doylestown

Jamie Moyer (1962– ), starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (Philadelphia Phillies); born in Sellersville

Dorothy Parker, writer, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th-century urban foibles

Rembrandt Peale (1778–1860), portrait painter and museum keeper

S. J. Perelman, humorist, author, and screenwriter; best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker

Pink (1979– ), singer; real name Alecia Moore; born in Doylestown

Justin Pugh, former NFL offensive lineman; attended high school at Council Rock High School South in Council Rock School District

Leon Redbone, singer/songwriter and guitarist

Joe Renzetti (1941– ), Academy Award-winning film composer; musical arranger of many hit records; session musician

Allen Rosenberg (born 1931), rower and rowing coach

Dean Sabatino, drummer for the punk band Dead Milkmen; Pennridge High School graduate

Bryan Scott, NFL free safety; Bucks County native; attended Central Bucks East High School

Paul Simon, musician; owned a farm in Bucks County

Steve Slaton, former NFL running back; from Levittown; attended Conwell-Egan Catholic High School in Fairless Hills

Andrew Jackson Smith (1815–1897), Union army general

Hiram N. Smith (1817-1890), Wisconsin State Assemblyman

Ezra Stone (1917–1994), actor and director

Superheaven, alternative rock/grunge band formed in 2008 (formerly known as Daylight)

Brianna Taylor, cast member of The Real World: Hollywood; born in Warwick, lives in Warminster

Troy Vincent, former NFL cornerback; lives in Lower Makefield and attended Pennsbury High School

Dean Ween, pseudonym for Mickey Melchiondo of the band Ween

Gene Ween, pseudonym for Aaron Freeman of the band Ween

Jordan White, singer/songwriter and lyricist, contestant on American Idol

Official seal

The traditional seal of Bucks County, Pennsylvania takes its design from the inspiration of the county's founder, William Penn. The center of the seal consists of a shield from the Penn family crest with a tree above and a flowering vine surrounding it in symmetric flanks. The seal has a gold-colored background and a green band denoting Penn as the county's first proprietor and governor. In 1683, Penn's council decreed that a tree and vine be incorporated into the emblem to signify the county's abundance of woods. The seal was used in its official capacity until the Revolutionary War. The county government has since used the official Pennsylvania state seal for official documents. Today, the Bucks County seal's use is largely ceremonial. It appears on county stationery and vehicles as a symbol of the county's heritage. The gold emblem is also the centerpiece of the official Bucks County flag, which has a blue background and gold trim.