Boone Farm Book Preserves History, Promotes Bucks Museum

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, PA —For Patricia Mervine, Boone Farm is like coming full circle.

Back in the day, her parents used to live in an apartment in a carriage house on the Langhorne farm where her father would get a $10 discount on the month's rent for milking the Boone family's cow.

A lot has happened since that time.

The farm at 867 Newtown-Langhorne Road will serve as the permanent home for the African American Museum of Bucks County. A groundbreaking was held in late November and Mervine said work on that project is expected to begin this week.

Mervine knows a lot about Boone Farm. In fact, she's written a 90-page book about it.

“Boone Farm: Its People and Place in Middletown History” was released at a fundraiser for AAMBC at a gala in early December at the Parx Casino in Bensalem Township.

The book is available at Commonplace Reader Bookstore in Yardley and at the Middletown Township Municipal Building. Mervine said the book is now in its second printing.

Once a bustling farmhouse, the Boone Farm property is eligible to be on the National Register of Historic Places and has historical ties to the Great Migration of the 20th century, during which 6 million African Americans moved out of rural Southern states to Northern areas such as Pennsylvania in search of economic opportunity.

Mervine, a speech-language pathologist, has written children's books and others on speech therapy, but never really tackled history as a book topic. But this subject was right up her alley.

"I was always interested in the farm since my parents lived there," she told Patch in a recent interview. "It's part of family lore."

Mervine said the farm was significant for its location between Langhorne and Newtown, which then served as the seat for Bucks County. She said Four Lane's End was the only road that could be taken between the two towns.

She said the area was a hub back then with a hotel for travelers and six mills (three in Newtown and three in Middletown Township) around Core Creek. Mervine said it served as an important urban industrial area during that time in the early 1700s.

Boone Farm, Mervine said, is basically two homes put together as one. She said 21 people have owned the home, which is "nothing modern and very primitive." It's also considered one of the oldest buildings in Bucks County.

The farm's transformation into a museum will serve the region well, Mervine said, because it will show how people were "exposed to life in the colonial structure" in Bucks County. She also said several enslaved people lived on the farm as well.

Mervine said since her parents lived at the farm and she lives around the corner, she got curious about its history and story. So she started doing research.

"I never really set out to write a book," she said. "But after 18 months of research, I said to my husband that I need to put these stacks of information into order."

Mervine figured she could put together a historical presentation. But then the Bucks County Commissioners got involved and the museum project pushed forward. Mervine was encouraged to write a book.

She's donated 100 books to the museum. The $20 book is filled with full-color pictures, maps, and documents and is chock full of information about the farm.

"It was really an adventure," she said. "I learned so much. It's a gift to the community and a nod to my parents."

Mervine said that AAMBC President Linda Salley has put out a plea for donations, small and large, to help the museum become a reality. All donations will be gratefully received by this nonprofit organization that is devoted to exploring the history and heritage of the diverse cultures of Bucks County.

For more information and to make a donation, please visit https://infoaambc.org/.

About the African American Museum of Bucks County
Founded in 2014, the African American Museum of Bucks County honors the rich legacy of the African American experience, inspiring pride in our heritage, and sharing information and stories about the diverse journey of our people and our shared ancestry.
The museum has presented educational programs and special exhibits to thousands of men, women, and students of all ages – in Bucks County schools, libraries, senior centers, faith congregations and corporations, as well as conducting Underground Railroad tours and tours of Bucks County historic landmarks.