What appears to be a typical-looking Bucks County farm at 1201 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA, is actually the David Library of the American Revolution. This unique and world-class research library dedicated to the study of Early America and the war for independence is located exactly 1.3 miles north of the Washington Crossing Historic Park.

The David Library was the inspiration of businessman and philanthropist Sol Feinstone, a longtime Bucks County resident and collector of Revolutionary War manuscripts and George Washington letters. He established the David Library (named in honor of his grandson, David Golub) in 1959 to provide public access to valuable primary source materials on the American Revolution. The Library’s core was Feinstone’s own 2500-item collection of original manuscripts. In 1974, when the Library moved into its present structure on the site of Feinstone’s home, Buckstone Farm, the collection expanded to include additional manuscript materials, in both microfilm and published form, from all over the United States and from Britain and Canada. These additional materials include letters, diaries, military records, contemporary books and newspapers, and both British and American government records. The authors and subjects of these documents include American patriots and loyalists, British officials, soldiers and sailors, Hessians (German mercenary soldiers) and men and women of every nationality in eighteenth-century North America, including African-Americans and Native Americans. The Library also collects secondary material–general and local histories, biographies, atlases, guides, and indexes–to augment its basic collection.

While the David Library supports the work of scholars by providing resident research fellowships to doctoral candidates and established historians, it is open to the public. Anyone interested in researching the revolutionary era is welcome. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. During the academic year, the Library offers a series of free lectures by distinguished historians that is open to the public. For the schedule of lectures and other special events, check www.dlar.org.

What sets the David Library apart from every other research institution that features materials on the American Revolution is concentration and convenience. At the David Library, a visitor will find almost all the basic primary sources on the Revolution, including materials (such as many documents microfilmed at the British Archives) found nowhere else in the United States. The material is housed in a single building, serviced by a small but highly knowledgeable staff whose only objective is to help its users learn about the broad era of the American Revolution.

The David Library is advancing its mission of disseminating primary source documentation on the era of the American Revolution through a cooperative relationship with the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. In 2004, the David Library lent three documents from the Sol Feinstone Collection, including correspondence among the Founding Fathers discussing the then-developing Constitution, to the Constitution Center for exhibit. The David Library has agreed to lend the Constitution Center five more manuscripts over the next two years.

“We are delighted by the opportunity to share our holdings with a large audience, and the Constitution Center is an auspicious venue,” said Meg McSweeney, Chief Operating Officer of The David Library.

DAVID LIBRARY VITAL STATISTICS