Peddler’s Village turns 60 years old in 2022, and its active calendar will offer numerous sparkling events for the diamond anniversary. Jennifer Rogers Burns looked back on its beginnings for the Visit Bucks County blog.

The site once comprised a simple array of shops and a hotel surrounding a Quaker meeting house in the early 1700s. From there, it became known as “Hentown,” owing to a local chicken farm.

That all changed in 1962 when entrepreneur Earl Jamison (ancestor of Jamison’s founders) bought the property at the convergence of Routes 202, 263, and Street Road in Lahaska. He converted the onsite hatchery, coops, and barn into stores and a restaurant.

The layout was unusual: Jamison replaced the traditional grid pattern of small-town retail with winding pathways and lush gardens. Further, he used Colonial American architecture to unify the sightlines.

Today, Peddler’s Village is a thriving attraction that annually welcomes more than two million visitors from around the globe.

The 2022 anniversary preserves the site’s usual array of events (PEEPS in the Village, Red, White & Blue BBQ Bash), augmenting them with a beach festival that includes sand sculptures. Visitors will also have numerous chances at prizes across 60 giveaways.

More about Peddler’s Village is at Visit Bucks County.

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