How did Cauffman Hill in Pennsylvania get it’s name? This page provides a brief history about Cauffman Hill in Pennsylvania, the people who settled on it, and the industry rising around it.
This bold hill, rising 820 feet above tidewater, lies in the northeastern part of Nockamixon Township, the boundary line between Nockamixon and Bridgeton Townships running through its eastern base. It contains a large extent of wild land. A part of the State’s 2,000-acre Auxiliary Game Preserve extends into the hill and many acres are wired and set aside as a game refuge, in which hunting is not permitted. Virginia deer, foxes, raccoons and other mammals, scarce in other parts of the county, have increased in number since the preserve was established. The hill’s contour is that of an irregular circle a mile and a quarter in diameter. Rising more than 200 feet above surrounding territory, it forms a conspicuous object against the skyline. In all probability Cauffman Hill was named for Lawrence Cauffman, son of Joseph Theophilus Cauffman, a native of Strasburg, Germany (born 1720), who came to America in 1749, settled in Philadelphia and acquired large tracts of land in that city and in Bucks, Montgomery and other counties. Lawrence Cauffman, born in Philadelphia August 8, 1769, married Sarah Falconer Shewell (eighth child of Robert Shewell and granddaughter of Walter Shewell, the immigrant) at Painswick Hall, near Doylestown, Pa., April 23, 1796. Sarah Falconer Shewell was a grand-niece of Miss Elizabeth Shewell, who married Benjamin West, the painter. After their marriage Lawrence Cauffman and wife lived at Painswick Hall for six years. Cauffman, fine looking and likeable in personality, became prominent in social and business circles, enjoying the acquaintance of nearly all the men of note in Bucks County. Prior to his marriage he had been in the counting room of Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution. Upon his removal to Bucks County he was appointed by Governor Mifflin a Justice of the Peace for the county (1796). He became much interested in the movement to change the county seat from Newtown to Doylestown and was a promoter and the secretary of the large meeting held at John Shaw’s inn in Bedminster Township on Christmas Day, 1800, at which the first real steps were taken to stop the proposed erection of new county buildings at Newtown and to transfer the county seat to a more central location. Judge John Barclay, who took part in this meeting and was made a member of the committee to present the meeting’s petition to the Legislature, was a close personal and business associate of Lawrence Cauffman, and there is some reason to believe the Judge was responsible for the suggestion that the hill be called Cauffman. Another name, often used locally, was Boatmens Hill, from the circumstance of Delaware Division Canal boatmen residing in some numbers near by. The names Kauffman, Coffman and Bolton appear on various maps, but these may have been merely variants or incorrect spelling.
Source: MacReynolds, George. Place Names in Bucks County Pennsylvania, 2nd Edition. Doylestown, PA: The Bucks County Historical Society, 1955.