How did Durham Hills and Durham Mines in Pennsylvania get their name? This page provides a brief history about Durham Hills and Durham Mines in Pennsylvania, the people who settled around them, and the industry rising amongst them.
Often referred to by geologists as Durham and Reading Hills, a spur of South Mountain, running northeast and southwest through the entire Durham township, and where the iron ore mines of the different proprietors of the Durham Furnaces are located. The hill farthest west, called Mine Hill, was opened probably as early as 1698. That mine supplied all the iron ore used at the 1727 charcoal furnace. The hill farthest east, beginning at the Delaware River, is called Rattlesnake Hill. The mine there was opened in 1851, and was the largest and best of all the Durham mines. Dr. B. F. Fackenthal, Jr., describes these and other Durham hills and mines very fully in Papers Read before The Bucks County Historical Society, Vol. VII, pp. 59-93.
Source: MacReynolds, George. Place Names in Bucks County Pennsylvania, 2nd Edition. Doylestown, PA: The Bucks County Historical Society, 1955.