Newtown Heritage Walk No. 1

The Half-Moon Inn (popularly known as the Court Inn) is located at 101-103 Court Street. The south portion of the Inn was the original one and one-half story frame cottage of Margaret and Joseph Thornton built in 1733 and later used as a tavern. The Inn was a popular gathering place during court sessions when Newtown was the County Seat; hence, the name "Court Inn."

In the 1890s, the local telephone company purchased the building and subdivided it into two separate units. The Newtown Historic Association was the recipient of the north portion of the property in 1964 as a gift from the LaRue family. The Newtown Historic Association purchased the south residence in 1974 and restored it in 1982. After the restoration, the two doors connecting the two properties were re-opened to turn it back into one building. The Half-Moon Inn has served as the headquarters of the Newtown Historic Association since 1964 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Inn is one of the oldest and most historic buildings in Newtown.

Next door, the Thornton/Hicks House was initially constructed in 1782 by Margaret Thornton as a 2 1/2 story stone residence with a brick front facing Court Street. After her death in 1790, the property was purchased by Abraham Chapman, a prominent attorney of the time, and then was sold to the famed Bucks County primitive painter, Edward Hicks in 1811, where he lived until 1821 when he moved to the stone house on Penn Street. The Thornton/Hicks House is owned by the Newtown Historic Association.

Directly across the street is the Boone Garden. This 2,100 square foot parcel was donated to the Newtown Historic Association from the late Grace R. "Missy" Boone in 1972 for the enjoyment of the community.

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Show me all markers in:  Newtown, PA  |  Bucks County  |  18940  |  Pennsylvania  |  United States of America

Newtown - County Seat
Justices House
Loyalist Raid of 1778
February 9, 1778
The First National Bank
Bird in Hand
Whitehall
Temperance House
White Hall
Newtown Library Company

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