Editing Sellersville, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
===18th century===
[[File:Sellersville.gif|thumb|left|An aerial view of Sellersville in 1894]]
Sellersville was founded in the early 18th century. It was centered on a major road known as [[Bethlehem Pike]] that connected [[Philadelphia]] to [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania|Bethlehem]] and the rest of what was then [[Western Pennsylvania]]. The town was very small and was called Sellers Tavern. Its most notable feature was a large [[inn]]. The present Washington House in Sellersville, however, was not Sellers Tavern. The town grew slowly over the years until the [[Industrial Revolution]].

===19th century===
In the 1860s, the [[North Pennsylvania Railroad]] was built, running parallel to Bethlehem Pike: this stimulated the growth of light textile industries and brought a wave of population growth. The East Branch of the [[Perkiomen Creek]] runs through the town which connects it to an adjacent town of [[Perkasie, Pennsylvania|Perkasie]]. This creek was dammed in the early 20th century creating a small body of water known as Lake Lenape. Along the length of the lake a park was built on Perkasie and Sellersville lands. In the 1920s and 1930s this park housed a carousel, a roller coaster and several other amusements. The railroad brought hundreds of people from Philadelphia in the summer time, and it became a well known vacation spot for blue collar city workers.

===20th century===
In August 1938, Deutschhorst Country Club, a summer retreat created by the [[German American Bund]], a Pro-Nazi organization moved to the area after purchasing a 40-acre ranch outside of the town. The group used the area as a summer camp where family functions and activities were pursued in addition to political rallies. As World War II approached, the club sought to distance itself several times from the Nazi cause in local newspapers and was reported as "almost abandoned" from a lack of use by 1940. FBI agents were reported to have been watching the club grounds and visitors were reported to have covered their license plates in order to avoid being identified as a Bund member.

In September 1939, shortly after the start of [[World War II]], the leader of German American Bund, Fritz Julius Kuhn, gave a speech to gathered members of the German American Bund and associated groups such as the World War I German Veteran league known as the Kyffhauser Bund, declaring that with the start of the war [[Adolf Hitler]] would "lick the world" in the new conflict. The camp would eventually be closed after the dissolution of the German American Bund on December 8, 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hsp.org/blogs/fondly-pennsylvania/nazi-party-sympathizers-in-philadelphia-before-the-war-part-1|title = Nazi Party Sympathizers in Philadelphia Before the War (Part 1) &#124; Historical Society of Pennsylvania}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hsp.org/blogs/fondly-pennsylvania/nazi-party-sympathizers-in-philadelphia-before-the-war-part-2|title = Nazi Party Sympathizers in Philadelphia Before the War (Part 2) &#124; Historical Society of Pennsylvania}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://buckscountyadventures.org/cloak-and-dagger-mailbag/|title = Cloak and dagger mailbag – Bucks County Adventures}}</ref>

The town was also home to the Radium Company of America, which was the largest uranium milling facility in the world at the time.  A business operating under the name of the United States Gauge Company originated in Sellersville in 1904 and allegedly became a prominent manufacturer of gauges for military use, many of which were coated with radium-based paint<ref>Ferry, Joseph P., “DEP to Begin Cleanup in Sellersville; 3,000 Cubic Yards of Soil Contaminated by Radioactivity Will Be Excavated in a $1.7 Million Project,” Allentown Morning Call, August 16, 1996, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160310170339/http://articles.mcall.com/1996-08-16/news/3105359_1_radium-contaminated-goldberg].</ref> for night-time luminescence. The company later became instrumental in the production of nuclear weapons,<ref>Etheridge, A.C., "Engineer Recalls First Visit to White Room," Perkasie News Herald, October 28, 1992.</ref> leaving behind a legacy of industrial and radioactive contamination that has been well-hidden by local, county, state, and federal government agencies for decades.<ref>Duhigg, C., Ericson, M., Evans, T., Hamman, B., Willis, D. “Toxic Waters.” New York Times. December 16, 2009. Published testing data from Sellersville Boro Water Works obtained by the Environmental Working Group exposed serious industrial contamination of Sellersville's municipal water supply that had been removed from all public disclosure provided by Sellersville Borough, the Bucks County Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency throughout each entity's oversight of said water supplier.</ref><ref>Halliburton Nuclear Utility Services Environmental Corporation. “Final Screening Site Inspection – Inactive Landfill – EPA Work Assignment No. 37-34-3JZZ.” June 16, 1992. Retrieved December 19, 2014 via FOIA Appeal #EPA-HQ-2014-010618 submitted on September 22, 2014, mandating the provision of information requested initially in FOIA Request #EPA-R3-2014-006974 submitted on June 2, 2014.  A portion of said report was provided upon appeal...with 58 of its 60 pages fully redacted: https://www.slideshare.net/secret/5sydRQLjXyj4cN .</ref><ref>Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. ''Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Department of Environmental Resources vs. PTI''. p. 28-29, 67. Bucks County Court of Common Pleas No. 94-007754-15-5. 17 October 1994. Retrieved 2012 via Freedom of Information Act Request. Litigation regarding high-level radiation contamination in Sellersville, Pennsylvania which references the aforesaid Halliburton “Final Screening Site Inspection – Inactive Landfill” report that was redacted in full by the USEPA upon its provision in appeal.  Page 28-29 of the legal transcript indicates that said report was to be withheld from inclusion in the court's records: “I'm not going to have this marked for the record, Your Honor, if you don't mind.  I'm not sure we want it in the record;”  Page 67 indicates that radioactive “hot spots” are located “all over Sellersville.”  The aforesaid  Halliburton “Final Screening Site Inspection – Inactive Landfill” report designates the location of these areas.  This report continues to be withheld from the general public, having been 1) omitted from Bucks County court records, 2) eliminated from the PADEP's FOIA request provision, 3) deemed denied by Sellersville Borough in a 3/2014 FOIA request, 4) deemed denied by the USEPA in a 6/2014 FOIA request, and 5) provided in part in subsequent USEPA FOIA requests/appeals with 58 of its 60 pages fully redacted (blackened-out) and absent the information included in N.R.A. 1-4D2-167 respectively.  The USEPA issued a letter on 4/1/2016 to reiterate that said redaction was made to protect “geological and geophysical information and data, including maps regarding wells” from public disclosure, and to advise that the rest of the appeal pertaining to radiation issues in Sellersville, Pennsylvania was denied due to various regulations protecting the disclosure of confidential business information (“CBI”), government contract information, and information about individuals in “medical and similar files.”</ref><ref>Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Administrative Record – AMETEK U.S. Gauge Division, Sellersville, PA. Reporting shows the drilling of groundwater monitoring wells per the directive of the USEPA at AMETEK Plant #2 as bypassing the confined aquifer containing the underground chemical plume and extracting from the confined aquifer beneath where the chemical plume contamination is not present. This creates testing results within “acceptable” range for human health/exposure and is inclusive of wells drilled by AMETEK on the grounds of an adjacent residential subdivision. Retrieved 2012 via Freedom of Information Act Request. Reference page 18: https://www.slideshare.net/secret/9swclB48uWVxl3 .</ref><ref>Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Internal Memorandum (excerpt) dated January 22, 2014 acknowledging radiation issues at AMETEK Plant #2, Sellersville, PA. Said issues continue to be denied by Sellersville Borough, Bucks County, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved November 20, 2014 via Freedom of Information Act Request. Reference page 1, highlighted: https://www.slideshare.net/secret/BOVOX3S34Yf7jR .</ref><ref>United States Census Bureau, 1920. “Home Farm” is listed as the industry for individuals residing at 215 Diamont Street in Sellersville Borough, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Said description was written over the words “Radium Plant” on Sheet 2A, Line 14 of this federal document. Reference addendum 7, page 8: http://www.slideshare.net/Ax318960/freedom-of-information-request-sellersville-borough-1816 .</ref><ref>“Sellersville Proud of Its Fame as Home of Big Plant that Now Produces Radium.” Author Unknown. Trenton Evening Times. January 8, 1914. Additional information and newspaper citations: http://www.slideshare.net/Ax318960/trenton-evening-times-january-8-1914 .</ref><ref>“U.S. Material Safety Data Sheet - AMETEK U.S. Gauge, Sellersville, PA.” United States National MSDS Repository. Retrieved May 2, 2016. A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is an informational document of a hazardous chemical or product that a manufacturer has produced at its facility which describes its physical and chemical properties, hazards, and recommended precautions for handling, storage and disposal. A 2016 search of national MSDS archives revealed a previously unseen MSDS for product “AW1 7-8 2OUF2,” otherwise known as “Radium 226,” with the producer/manufacturer for said product listed as “AMETEK U.S. Gauge, 900 Clymer Ave., Sellersville, PA.” Reference:   http://www.slideshare.net/Ax318960/ametek-us-gauge-manufacturer-of-radium-226 .</ref><ref>“WPA Real Estate Survey Reveals Property Line Discrepancies.” Author and Newspaper Unknown. January 24, 1936. Article obtained from the Mercer Museum Library, Doylestown, PA. Additional information: http://www.slideshare.net/Ax318960/removed-posts-and-final-commentary .</ref>

===21st century===
In the 21st century, the town remains relatively small, sandwiched in between a ridge line and the larger town of [[Perkasie, Pennsylvania|Perkasie]]. The center of town still runs along Bethlehem Pike which is now called Old Route 309. The Washington House has recently been restored to become an upscale restaurant. Next door to the restaurant was a livery stable, which was converted into a theater and later into a movie theater in 1894. It has since been restored, and reopened in 2002 as Sellersville Theater 1894, a popular live music venue. The creek is still dammed but only the carousel in Perkasie remains of the amusements.

The textile industry has long moved out of the area and Sellersville has become mainly a residential town for people working in the many urban centers that are only a short commute away. Grand View Hospital, [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Bucks County]]’s first hospital, has provided residents of Bucks and [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery]] counties with comprehensive healthcare services since 1913. The town is surrounded on three sides by open country and spread out housing developments. The local firehouse provides various activities throughout the year, including a carnival in the summer. The Holiday House Pool and Recreation Center becomes a hotspot for people to escape the heat during the summer as well. There are various businesses along Main Street, one being the Washington House, which provide some jobs as well, but largely the town remains a residential area. Sellersville Museum is located off Main Street in Sellersville and displays different exhibits every month.

The [[Teller Cigar Factory]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1987.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>