Moving To Riegelsville, PA? Information
Riegelsville Boro, Bucks County
The Borough of Riegelsville may be tiny (only about 900 people in 1 square mile!), but it has a big personality, and a long and rich history.
Located at the extreme northeastern tip of Bucks County and perched on the Delaware River, the village of Riegelsville is a National Historic District for good reason. Its fine collection of residential and commercial buildings span three centuries of architectural design.
First settled around 1774, it was known as Schenk's or Shank's Ferry, named for the man who either built or improved the ferry that crossed the Delaware to New Jersey. In 1804, the land was sold to Benjamin Riegel who, in 1838, built the Riegelsville Inn which today is a popular restaurant and pub with rooms for visitors (link).
In 1832, when the Delaware Canal was completed (link to Friends of the Delaware Canal, Canal Museum, Canal websites), Riegelsville and surrounding communities began to really thrive with industrial activity. Pig iron from the nearby Durham Furnace required factories and warehouses. The canal grew in importance carrying coal, stone, iron, crops and goods from the nearby mills from Easton (just to the north) 60 miles south to Bristol.
In 1837 a bridge was built to replace the important ferry to New Jersey, and in 1903 the current suspension bridge and walkway was built by the Roebling steelworks (designers of the Brooklyn and Gold Gate Bridges). The area continued to thrive until the canal closed in 1931.
As with most river crossing towns, Riegelsville boasts a few restaurants and pubs. In addition to the Riegelsville Inn mentioned above, residents and visitors enjoy Villa Richard located in a stately mansion built in 1895 (link) which also offers attractive rooms with fireplaces and 4-poster beds. The Peaberry Café serves breakfast and lunch with their own custom blend coffees, soups, salads and sandwiches (link), and the Riverstone Tavern (xxx do we have anything on this).
Riegelsville, though, is primarily a residential town with a wide range of styles and values. "Mansion Row," dominates the main street with its impressive late 19th century homes, many of which have been restored beyond the original splendor planned by the industry executives who built them.
Most homes, however, are far more modest. There hasn't been one sale over $1 million in the past five years. And only three sales between $500,000 and $999,999 have been recorded. Twenty-one homes sold for between $250,000 and $499,999 since 2003 and 35 sold for under $250,000 in the same time period. In all, only 12 homes sold in 2008.
Victorians, colonial-style homes, ranches and a few capes and bungalows are more-or-less evenly represented among Riegelsville's residential properties.
The town no longer has its own school system, but instead has an agreement with the town of Easton xx miles north. This has become somewhat controversial as the students are bused out of the county to an urban school district and the town's property owners pay property tax to the city of Easton. The community has taken the issue to court, asking that the students be allowed to attend nearby Palisades School District.
Points of interest:
Benjamin Riegel House - on the National Register of Historic Places as a significant example of vernacular Georgian architecture.