Bensalem Township is an area of 22 square miles bounded on three sides by waterways: the Delaware River, the Neshaminy Creek and the Poquessing Creek. Through it pass four of the most important arteries of transportation in the United States - Interstate 95 (Delaware Expressway), US Route 13 (Bristol Pike), US Route 1 (Lincoln Highway) and Interstate 276 (PA Turnpike).

There have been many discussions about the name "Bensalem" with the most popular theory being that it comes from the estate of Joseph Growden called "The Manor of Bensalem" in the 1700's.

Settled by the Dutch, Swedes, and English, it was a farming community until the 1950's when businesses and industries started to dot the landscape. One of the biggest changes in the township in the 1960's was the construction of Interstate 95 which transformed Street Road from a two lane country road into a major four lane highway.

It seemed like nothing was going to stay put with all the buildings springing up to accommodate the influx of new residents but many of the old buildings do still remain.

In 1979 all the small towns (Andalusia, Eddington, Cornwells Hgts, Bridgewater, Flushing and many others) became one postal area called "Bensalem". Many older maps still show these delightful small towns.

The 21st century brings a realization that the riverfront offers an extraordinary potential for recreation and housing development to replace some of the industries no longer in business. The Bensalem Country Club was acquired by Bensalem Township to preserve valuable open space and to provide continued recreation for the residents. Under the strong leadership of Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo, Bensalem has thrived and is poised to continue to prosper, making for more history to be recorded and preserved.

Growden Mansion is named for the family who once owned three quarters of all the land in what is now Bensalem Township. This occurred when Lawrence and Joseph Growden each purchased 5,000 acres from William Penn. While Lawrence never came to the colonies, Joseph did and arrived in 1683 to establish both their claims to the land. Joseph built a home which was later expanded upon by his son, Lawrence, about 1730. This home was called "Trevose" or "The Manor of Bensalem".

The home later became the property of Grace Growden, the granddaughter of Joseph Growden, until she married Jospeh Galloway in 1753. Since married women of this era were not allowed to own property, Joseph Galloway automatically became the owner of the property. Galloway and Benjamin Franklin were good friends and history tells of many visit by Ben to "Trevose".

Parts of the home have very interesting histories of their own. The west side structure was the home of Richard Gibbs and his family until he left and established his own home called "Eddington" The east side was the servants quarters and kitchen where the large fireplace was used for cooking. The small stone structure near the east wing is called "The Vault" since this is where the County records were kept. It still bears bullet holes from the Revolutionary War.

Today the Growden Mansion estate is owned by Bensalem Township and is open for tours by appointment only. More on the Growdens and their home can be found in the book, "Traveling Through Bensalem, 1682-1984" or make a point to stop by The Historical Society of Bensalem Township to learn more about this great piece of Colonial history!

At the turn of the 20th Century	Today in the 21st Century