ABOUT

Southampton is an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, situated in the South-Eastern tip of Bucks County.

History
Southampton, Pennsylvania is a namesake of Southampton, England, the seaport from which adventurous followers of William Penn sailed to the Province of Pennsylvania. By 1685, Southampton was recognized by the Provincial Council as a township, and the lands within its borders had been allocated to thirteen original purchasers: John Luff, John Martin, Robert Pressmore, Richard Wood, John Jones, Mark Betres, John Swift, Enoch Flowers, Joseph Jones, Thomas Groom, Robert Marsh, Thomas Hould and John Gilbert, whose tracts were delineated on a Map of the Improved Part of the Province of Pennsylvania drafted by Thomas Holme, Penn's Surveyor General.Southampton's boundaries at that time extended eastward to Bensalem, and it was not until 1929 that the township was divided into "Upper Southampton" and "Lower Southampton". Its immediate bordering towns are now Feasterville, Huntingdon Valley, Warminster, and Churchville.Farming was the way of life for most Southampton residents throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries, and roads were constructed from farm to mill, to market and to church. Second Street Pike was the thoroughfare used to carry produce by horse and wagon to the markets in Philadelphia. In the mid-19th century the villages of Davisville, Churchville, and Southamptonville (formerly "Fetter's Corner") sprouted at the various crossroads in the township, and Second Street Pike became a toll road.The railroad arrived in the 1870s and brought with it many changes. "Southamptonville" was shortened to Southampton, and farmers now had a faster and more efficient way to market their milk and produce. Tradesmen and craftsmen opened shops along Second Street Pike, and residents began commuting into Philadelphia.