




A history of Bristol,
since 1681
Postcards, papers and photographs of Bristol from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Samuel Clift founded the Borough of Bristol, having received a land grant from Edmund Andros, who was then governor of New York. The grant became effective on March 14, 1681 (new style) or March 4, 1681 (old style) at the same time as William Penn's Charter from Charles II became effective. Clift was required by the grant to maintain ferry service across the Delaware River to Burlington, New Jersey, and to run a public house or inn. The inn later became known as the George II.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Bristol’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
4 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District …, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Bristol
See all 35 →Bristol, decade by decade
DocumentRoad from Philadela. to New York, seg. 4-51802
DocumentDevon in Pennsylv'a, the seat of Mr. Dallas - painted by T.…1808
DocumentMount Sidney, the seat of Genl. John Barker, Pennsylv'a - d…1808
DocumentSedgley, the seat of Mr. Wm. Crammond, Pennsylv'a - drawn, …1808
DocumentSolitude in Pennsylv'a, belonging to Mr. Penn - drawn, engr…18081990s
Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as 1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Bucks County - Bristol - ED 9-11 - ED 9-24 (1880) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (17) and the Library of Congress (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.















