How did Derstein, Pennsylvania get it’s name? This page provides a brief history about the naming of Derstein, Pennsylvania, the people who settled it, and the industry rising within it.
A small settlement in West Rockhill Township, a mile and a half south of Sellersville, on the North Pennsylvania Railroad. Derstine, a station on that road, was discontinued in 1940. The name came from the Derstein family, very early settlers in that township. Ancestors of present members of that family bought 200 acres of land there in 1730 and built a primitive handmill under four saplings, thatched with straw, on what later came to be known as Dersteins Mill Creek. This, the first mill between Centre Valley and Flourtown, was replaced in 1742 by another mill on the same site, built by Michael and Abraham Derstein and equipped with the best mill machinery of the time. The culvert over the tail race was a fine piece of masonry and is still standing. William and David Derstein tore down the old mill in 1873 and built a more modern structure. The old Derstein mansion of 1748 is at this day in an excellent state of preservation. The family name, Derstein, varies greatly in spelling.
Source: MacReynolds, George. Place Names in Bucks County Pennsylvania, 2nd Edition. Doylestown, PA: The Bucks County Historical Society, 1955.