Bolton Mansion Celebrates 330th Anniversary

Lower Bucks County is steeped history: with much of the fanfare surrounding Bristol Borough, Washington Crossing and the rest of the region, it often feels like Bristol Township is sometimes left out.

Bolton Mansion, situated in Holly Hill in Bristol Township’s Levittown section, is maintained by the nonprofit Friends of the Bolton Mansion. Every year, a number of events put on by the organization to raise funds and awareness bring vendors and patrons out to revel in the festivities and enjoyment.

Saturday’s festival marked the house’s 330th anniversary.

“All the other parts of the county have their history, but what does Bristol Township have?” asked Bill Watkins, who has been involved with the Friends of the Bolton Mansion for more than 20 years.

The answer he said, is historic Bolton Mansion.

The home, which was constructed in sections, dates back to the late 1600s and has been the home to the Pemberton and Morris families. The mansion served as the seat of the county in the early days of Bucks County. Official government work was done there, meetings were conducted and were funds transferred before the county seat moved out of Bristol Township. The house also served as the offices for William Levitt during the construction of the Levittown community and later the Bristol Township Police Department.

The Friends of Bolton Mansion is constantly raising money to maintain and repair different aspects of the house. The last big restoration was a portion of the roof, and the next is an interior hall, according to Watkins.

Watkins served as the vice president of the organization for about 10 years. Since stepping down to a more subtle role, Watkins still takes parts in events and makes sure that information being conveyed to guests is accurate.

“You would be surprised how many people come in here and have never been to Bolton Mansion,” Watkins explained.

Making the house accessible to the community is something the group and Watkins want to continuously work towards.

“We don’t want to fill the place with furniture and say ‘No, no, no,’ we want people to be able to come here and do their own thing,” Watkins said.

The township has been getting involved in that goal as well. Just last Friday night, a family movie night brought hundreds of people to the property to watch “Hotel Transylvania.”

In addition to the normal tours and festivities, a firetruck from Levittown Fire Company No. 2 was present, ponies were giving rides, a moon bounce was on site along with vendors and a disc jockey.

Eric Watkins, Bill’s son, has been coming with his dad to volunteer at the mansion since he was a little kid.

When Bill Watkins became involved with the mansion, he was one of the younger guys taking up the mantle. Now, he said, he feels like he is one of the older guys at the mansion.

“I feel like I’m now the older person making sure everything being said and done is still accurate.”