Quakertown, Pennsylvania, a town (population in 1959, 6,000; 8,931 in 2000) located in the southeastern part of the state in Bucks County. In the late 1950s there were about 1,500 Mennonites living within the shopping area, belonging to three branches: Mennonite Church (MC), General Conference Mennonite Church, and Mennonite Brethren in Christ. The earliest known settlement of Mennonites in this area dates back to 1717, when Pastor Valentine (Felty) Clemmer arrived here from the Palatinate in Germany. Quakertown derives its name from early Quaker settlers. It was incorporated as a borough in 1855.

There are ten Mennonite churches in town and vicinity. The MC group established a school near the town. Mennonites of the area also have an interest in such near-by institutions as the Eastern Mennonite Home at Souderton, the Mennonite Home for the Aged at Frederick, the Grandview Hospital at Sellersville as well as the Quakertown Community Hospital.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 237. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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