Bensalem (Pa. : Township)

"Bensalem Township [Bucks County, Pennsylvania] is an area of 22 square miles bounded on three sides by waterways: the Delaware River, the Neshaminy Creek and the Poquessing Creek. Through it pass four of the most important arteries of transportation in the United States: Interstate 95 (Delaware Expressway), US Route 13 (Bristol Pike), US Route 1 (Lincoln Highway), and Interstate 276 (PA Turnpike).

"There have been many discussions about the name 'Bensalem' with the most popular theory being that it comes from the estate of Joseph Growden called 'The Manor of Bensalem' in the 1700s.

"Settled by the Dutch, Swedes, and English, it was a farming community until the 1950s when businesses and industries started to dot the landscape. One of the biggest changes in the township in the 1960s was the construction of Interstate 95 which transformed Street Road from a two lane country road into a major four lane highway.

"In 1979 all the small towns (Andalusia, Eddington, Cornwells Heights, Bridgewater, Flushing, and many others), became one postal area called 'Bensalem.'"

Bibliography:

Quoted text from The Historical Society of Bensalem Township. "The History of Bensalem." Accessed March 25, 2013. http://www.bensalemhistoricalsociety.com/history.html

From the guide to the Bensalem Township clippings scrapbooks, 1957-1995, (Historical Society of Bensalem Township)