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A Quick Sit for Brooklyn in Newtown (6/20-21/26)

Bob and I are currently in Newtown, Pennsylvania, caring for the elderly and anxious but adorable Brooklyn. We will be here until about mid-day Thursday when we head to New York to start a 2 month sit. Brooklyn is a pacer. She gets her steps in circling the house, going up and down stairs and out and in the dog door until she feels comfortable with everything or wears herself out. We felt bad for her yesterday because she was asleep when her humans left and except for when we walked her or she was eating, she seemed to be constantly looking for the homeowners.

However, she slept pretty well last night and has even showed a bit of playfulness today when we came back from our short excursion, so hopefully she isn’t too stressed.

Brooklyn keeping close to Bob

The current housesit is in Newtown, Pennsylvania, for which there is both a borough and a township. Not sure which one the house is in. They both are part of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area and are located in Bucks County. The heritage districts of each abut each other, and we walked a portion of each this morning.

The land for Newtown was purchased by William Penn in 1682. He named the area New Towne, which has become Newtown, and Newtown was the county seat of Bucks County until 1813. The borough incorporated as a borough in 1838, separating from the township.

It was just a 5 minute drive into the heritage area from the house but across some busy streets. We found the self-guided map online, chose our route, and read the historical markers as we found them. While we were walking through the historical district, it was filled with lots of retail, markets, cafes, banks, etc. It is definitely a vibrant area.

We started our walk in Newtown Borough.

The first intersection we walked up to.
Liked the old clock with the newer store across the street.
The Half-Moon Inn, also known as the Court Inn.
The oldest part of the building was built in 1733.
The inn was popular during court sessions
when Newtown was the county seat.
This is just a house that we liked the look of along the route.
Paxton Hall, which opened in 1900
as an adult care home for Quakers.
Directly across the street from Paxton Hall
was the 3rd location of the Newtown Library Company,
which was formed in 1760
and is the 3rd oldest private library in Pennsylvania.
The home of Edward Hicks (1780-1849),
a Quaker minister, sign painter, and artist,
most famous for over 60 versions
of his “Peaceable Kingdom” paintings.
The sign here noted that each of the buildings
on the four corners of this intersection
represent four centuries of architecture.
The building at the back of this structure
was a house built in 1797 by Henry Campbell.
The Enterprise Building housed the publishing
of the Newtown Enterprise newspaper.
The first issue published here was on December 12, 1874.
The newspaper began in 1868 and was published
through the end of October 1970.
The First National Bank and Trust Company of Newtown
was first organized in 1864. This is the third building for it,
which was built in 1928. It was built around a former building on the same site to ensure uninterrupted service.
This building was finished in 1858 to accommodate the council chambers and lock-up for the borough of Newtown, which received approval to separate from Newtown Township in 1838.
Newtown Theatre, dating back to 1831, is the oldest movie theater in the US, with the first movie being shown in 1906.
Prior to showing movies, it provided live entertainment.
The building was reconstructed in 1838 to provide larger facilities better designed for stage performances.

Bob and I moved into Newtown Township once we crossed Newtown Creek.

Not part of the heritage walk, La Stalia is a great Italian Market that we enjoyed perusing.
In 1918, John Goodnoe purchased 78 acres including this parcel for his farm. In 1920, he established the Goodnoe Farm Dairy, from which he delivered fresh milk, eggs, butter, etc. through the 1960s.
A look at portion of the main downtown street
in the historic area of Newtown Township.

We saw two more historic buildings in the borough after we crossed back over Newtown Creek.

The current site of Carriage House Collection in the restored former home of the William Brooks family who purchased the lot in 1824.
The Brick Hotel, which was built in 1763 as a 2-story brick residence by Amos Strickland. He hosted George Washington’s staff and captive Hessian soldiers in December 1776. The building was converted to a tavern in 1779 that became know as the Brick Hotel.

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