Early History of 32 North Broad Street

This property was part of the William Penn grant and was included in one of the five original tracts that comprised the area we now know as Doylestown. The Penn Land Grant of 1681 was in payment for a debt that the British Crown owed to Penn's father, Sir William Penn, an admiral in the British navy.

In 1724 Jeremiah Langhorne purchased 7200 acres of the tract containing the future 32 N. Broad St., and upon his death passed this portion of his holdings on to his slave Cudjo. Cudjo eventually relinquished the land and it was resold by the Langhorne executor to Isabel Crawford in 1752.

Crawford almost immediately began to sell off portions without development. First to William Doyle to build the now famous Doyle's Tavern. Then came the Magill Brothers, where one, Henry Magill, sold to John Martin. It was Martin to Adam Kerr, then Kerr to Joseph and Jesse Fell.

Development began slowly. After 1781, Jesse Fell built his village blacksmith shop where the 104th Monument stands today. His brotherJoseph opened a store at State and Main, all part of the original tract.

Finally in 1802 after many subdivisions there were 14 lots left, with #32 being part of lot #7. Josiah Shaw purchased #7 and divided it into three sections. All stretched from the footpath (soon to be designated Garden Alley) to State Street. Isaac Hall purchased the portion of #7 that fronted on Garden Alley, Broad Street, and State Street. His reason for picking this lot was that he felt lot #6, now known as Lawyer's Row on East Court Street, was too windy. Isaac "the" local stone mason of the day built himself a stone homestead on the State Street side of lot #7.

In 1821, Isaac Hall conveyed a section of his property (#32 plus the present Ruehl property below #32) to Reverend Samual Aaron. In 1835 Isaac's second son Charles, bought back the part of his father's former property that Reverend Aaron had originally purchased, and built a fine stone house at (then) German Meeting House Rd, now 32 N. Broad Street.

In 1838 the newly formed borough proclaimed that the footpath, located between the properties facing East Court St. and the properties that extended to State St., was to be called Garden Alley. Charles Hall sold #32 to Benjiman Bake in 1840, and moved to New York City to become a succesful merchant tailor. Charles' younger brother, Samuel, bought #32 from Bake in 1844, and combined it with the Isaac Hall homestead property which Charles had given him in the same year. Samuel went on to be active on borough council, as well as serving a term as Burgess (Mayor) of Doylestown.
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