The Turk. The Turk, as it was known, was a village south of Doylestown, near the village of Edison on the Neshaminy Creek. The name comes from the “Sign of the Turk’s Head” on the village tavern, which is believed to date back to Revolutionary days. Turk Road passes through the site running from the southwest to the northeast.
In 1810, the Pennsylvania Assembly legislated the removal of the county seat from Newtown to a more central location. The Turk became an active candidate for the site with the caveat that the town be known as Huffville after a resident and owner of a large tract of land. (The initiative was unsuccessful, and the county seat was moved to Doylestown.)
The old inn was demolished around 1920, but a successor, the Turk Tavern, opened in 1949. Advertised in The Intelligencer as a “Road Side Rest,” the inn was “located on the east side of Route 611, one mile south of Doylestown” and was operated by Daniel and Mary Foley for 28 years.
Sources: Place Names in Bucks County Pennsylvania by George MacReynolds; Old Hotel Sign Series by Earl Handy
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