Like most of eastern Pennsylvania, present-day Doylestown was inhabited by the Lenape Indian tribe prior to European settlement of the region.

Charles Stewart, the first postmaster, carried letters to recipients in the bell-shaped crown of his high beaver hat as he walked about the village.

On October 9, 1804 Harvey advertised in the Pennsylvania Correspondent, published in Doylestown, of a list of letters remaining in the post office for Wm.

Eight petitions with a total of 184 signers were submitted to the General Assembly, some as early as 1784, requesting the move of the county seat to Doylestown.

"An Act to erect the Village of Doylestown, in the County of Bucks, into a Borough" was passed and signed into law by Governor Joseph Ritner on April 16, 1838.

Because of the town's relatively high elevation and a lack of strong water power, substantial industrial development never occurred and Doylestown evolved to have a professional and residential character.

The next significant wave of development occurred after the Civil War, when the 30-acre (12 ha) Magill property to the southwest of the town's core was subdivided for residential lots.

[citation needed] In the early 20th century, Doylestown became best known to the outside world through the "Tools of the Nation-Maker" museum of the Bucks County Historical Society.

Henry Chapman Mercer constructed the reinforced concrete building in 1916 to house his collection of mechanical tools and utensils.

Upon his death in 1930, Mercer also left his similarly constructed home Fonthill and adjacent Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, to be operated as a museum.

The Great Depression took its toll on Doylestown; many grand old houses constructed a century earlier fell into disrepair.

[citation needed] By the 1960s, the competition presented by the emergence of shopping malls proved detrimental to many local Doylestown businesses, resulting in vacant buildings and dilapidated storefronts.

Bucks County Redevelopment Authority responded with a federal urban renewal scheme that called for the demolition of 27 historic buildings.

[citation needed] This private initiative was successful in saving Doylestown's old buildings and historic character, while improving business at the same time.

One historic landmark that could not be saved was the 80-year-old courthouse and clock tower, which was replaced by the present county complex in the early 1960s.

[citation needed] By the end of the 1980s, the downtown business district was again showing the toll of massive new competition from the latest wave of suburban shopping centers, as well as the recession that hit hardest in the northeastern states.

[citation needed] In response, the borough council established a volunteer group of civic-minded representatives from business organizations, government, and the residential community to begin formulating plans for the downtown area in 1992.

The gentry of Philadelphia and New York City, including figures associated with theater and literary in Manhattan, maintained country estates in the area and often summered in Doylestown.

The Mercer Museum, Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, and the local National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa brought a regular stream of short-term visitors through the area as well.

[5] Empty commercial spaces soon began to be replaced with dense and vibrant bars and restaurants, contributing to a lively nightlife in Doylestown.

As the Philadelphia metropolitan area expanded from southern into central Bucks County, the fields and farms of the communities around Doylestown quickly began to sprout housing developments.

This development brought thousands of people to the area, but the neighborhoods created often lacked longstanding institutions or discernible centers.

Doylestown, more centrally located than the Delaware River border town of New Hope, which had traditionally served this function, was able to position itself as the regional center of culture and nightlife.

Ice storms and large snowstorms depositing ≥ 12 inches (30 cm) of snow occur once every few years, particularly during nor’easters from December through February.

The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works is an operational facility utilizing the tools and techniques used by Pennsylvania German potters in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Doylestown Township, which is adjacent to the borough, contains Paul W. Kutz Elementary and also the campus of Delaware Valley University, which is primarily known as an agricultural and science school.

Pennsylvania Route 611 bypasses central Doylestown to the west on a freeway, heading north to Easton and south to Philadelphia.

[21] Doylestown is served by SEPTA City Bus Route 55, which heads south to Warrington, Willow Grove, Abington, Jenkintown and finally the Olney Transportation Center in North Philadelphia.

Trans-Bridge Lines connects Doylestown to New Jersey and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City along a route that originates in Quakertown.

[23][24] Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service to Doylestown along a route running between Philadelphia and Scranton.