How did Broad Axe Creek in Pennsylvania get it’s name? This page provides a brief history about Broad Axe Creek in Pennsylvania, the people who settled on it, and the industry rising around it.
Rises in Northampton Township and enters the northeastern part of Southampton Township at the village of Cornell and flows in a southerly direction parallel with the Northampton-Southampton township line, then turns eastward into Northampton again, passing through Holland and emptying into Neshaminy Creek. The Broad Axe has several tributaries. The creek is named after one of the most important building tools used by the pioneer settler, but, unless chosen at random, its application to this particular stream is not apparent. The portion of the stream below the junction of Broad Axe and Iron Works Creeks is marked Mill Creek on some maps.
Source: MacReynolds, George. Place Names in Bucks County Pennsylvania, 2nd Edition. Doylestown, PA: The Bucks County Historical Society, 1955.