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The Newtown Historic Association curates a collection of heritage materials from the greater Newtown community. The collections and archives are housed at the historic Half Moon Inn (Court Inn) in Newtown, PA. The NHA also maintains a facility for the research and study of the local history.
Research Center
The Research Center at 100 Mercer St. Newtown is open to the public without charge on Tuesdays 9 am to 1 pm and Thursday evdenings 7 – 9 pm. Copying facilities are available. Research is also done by request. Download a copy of the Research Request Form.
The Research Center is a repository of records focusing on Newtown history from its founding to the present time. The collection includes deeds, wills, diaries, genealogies, photographs, directories, inventories and maps dealing with Newtown people, land, houses, farms, schools, service organizations, events and many other topics of interest. The collections are strong in the period 1725 to 1813, when the village served as the county seat. Edward Hicks, America’s foremost primitive painter, is also well represented. The collections are of particular value to persons interested in genealogical information of former Newtown residents, and the maps and deeds are of assistance to those studying land history or dating historic houses in the Newtown area.
The Research Center was opened in 1982 at the Court Inn and the core of the collection was a gift from Edward R. Barnsley, a long time Newtown resident, collector and preservationist. The Research Center was then moved to its present location at 100 Mercer St., Newtown in 2019 in order to provide the expanded space needed.
Hicks Collection
The Newtown Historic Association invites you back in time to experience the life of Newtown’s most famous artist, Edward Hicks. The Edward Hicks Room displays many of the treasurers owned by Hicks during his lifetime. These items include a double-faced swinging sign portraying William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians and Penn’s Landing at Chester in 1844.
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Kitchin Collection
This collection of over 150 photographs of Newtown and Bucks County is from circa 1900. The photos were taken by William Randall and donated by Norman and Ida Kitchin. The photos are mostly from glass plate negatives. For more information on the collection, please visit the Research Center or contact the Newtown Historic Association.
Genealogy
The Newtown Historic Association maintains archives that reflect the residents of Newtown and the surrounding areas. The individuals and family names as well as subjects included in the collection are grouped according to:
PHOTOGRAPHS – PEOPLE
PHOTOGRAPHS – ALL OTHER SUBJECTS
GENERAL COLLECTION – PEOPLE
GENERAL COLLECTION – ALL OTHER SUBJECTS
NHA Collections indexed by PACSCL
The Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) site provides access to finding aids for manuscript and archival collections held by its members, a group of 36 libraries and archives, whose collections offer primary resources on national, regional, and local history; the natural and social sciences; world history; literature; religion; art and architecture; business and industry; and the performing arts. It also hosts finding aids for smaller institutions in the region prepared through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories.
