Grant Helps County Recorder Of Deeds Preserve More Historic Deed Books

A state grant has helped the Bucks County Recorder of Deeds preserve more historic records.

Bucks County Recorder of Deeds Robin Robinson’s office recently announced that a $5,000 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Historical Archives and Records Care Grant went to preserving two deed books from 1893 and purchasing a special humidity gauge to track temperature and humidity in the new storage unit where all of the newly preserved books are stored.

Officials noted that it is odd that there are multiple deed books from 1893, as one book usually covered an entire year. They speculate that the volume in changes that led to multiple books was caused by the nation’s largest, until that time, economic downturn, which became known as the Panic of 1893.

Since 2018, Robinson’s office has worked to restore about half of the county’s 700 deed books. Many of the deed books were not properly stored for years and deteriorated.

The county’s deed books date from the late 1600s to the last decades of the 20th Century. They include historical figures and cover the sale of slaves and notable properties.

Donations and grants have helped the county’s preservation of deed books.

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