Editing New Britain, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
Eugene James built an estate about 1731 and included the Mathews homestead, a fine Colonial house built in 1744 upon the site of an earlier house destroyed by fire. The village of James Manor was begun on the estate by Wynne James. Nearby villages were Jamestown, New Britain and Vauxtown. The National Farm School, now the [[Delaware Valley University]] was built near James Manor.<ref name="PlaceNamesNewBritain">MacReynolds, George, ''Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania'', Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, New Britain</ref>

The Sign of the Horses and Wagon was a tavern in the west end of the village, where  [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Lafayette]] headquartered at the time the Continental Army marched from [[Valley Forge National Historical Park|Valley Forge]] to [[Battle of Monmouth|Monmouth, New Jersey]].<ref name="PlaceNamesNewBritain"/>

The first dwelling in the village of New Britain was built at the intersection of West Butler Avenue ([[U.S. Route 202]]) and Almshouse Road by David Stephens, who purchased land from Joseph Kirkbride, sometime before 1760.<ref name="PlaceNamesNewBritain"/>

Early on, the village was called Bittings Store or Bittings Corner for a short time. Most of the people living in village were members of the Montgomery Baptist Church. About 1740 they separated from Montgomery calling their church the Society Meeting House, the first pastors William Davis, Joseph Eaton, and Joshua Jones. By 1813, it the name was changed to the New Britain Baptist Church.<ref name="PlaceNamesNewBritain"/>

The North Pennsylvania Railroad station was opened in 1856, the name on the sign at the station was "New Brittain". A post office was established on 28 December 1829, Isaac W. James, postmaster. New Britain was incorporated as a [[Borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] on 21 May 1928 taking in the villages of James Manor, Jamestown, New Britain, and a part of Vauxtown.<ref name="PlaceNamesNewBritain"/>

New Britain was entered into the [[Geographic Names Information System]] on August 30, 1999 as identification 1214971.<ref name=GNIS>{{GNIS|1214971|name=Borough of New Britain}}</ref>