Martin and Mary Bruslin House

The Martin & Mary Bruslin House is a prime example of the old saying, "If walls could talk". The present owners of this house bought it in the 1970s, having no idea of the home's history. After finding musket balls, a colonial style belt buckle and a 13 star button in the yard, it was decided to investigate the house's past. With the help of the "Heritage Conservancy", the home owners realized they were living in a historic home.

The interior framing and small stairs are both consistent with mid 1800 construction. The house is architecturally classified as an I house, similar to those found in England and Ireland in the 1700 and 1800s. The exterior aluminum siding was installed over the older wood siding before the history of the house was known.

Because of the house's close proximity to the canal and the time line involved, it is conjectured that Martin Bruslin may have emigrated from Ireland to Morrisville to help build and/or work on the Delaware Canal. At this point the home owner is still looking for the connection that links Martin Bruslin to the building of the canal.

Although the aluminum siding is not of the age, it is not hard to imagine the activity that would have taken place in and around this house when the Delaware Canal was the main artery between Easton and Bristol.
Also, as with many older homes, the home owners here say from time to time there is a uniqueness to the moment that makes one feel they are not alone. While they don't say the house is haunted, they do believe there is a possible connection to a former occupant.
At this point, this home has been converted to a duplex, with the entrance to the second unit seen in this picture. Also the home owner has pointed out that the original siding is underneath the aluminum siding, and that this home could easily be converted back to a single family home, if there was someone looking to restore a piece Bucks County history.

The Martin and Mary Bruslin House is easily identified on this map from 1893, located next to the canal at the end of Woodland Avenue (now Franklin Street). To get a better look at this map, go back to Morrisville and click on Map of Historic Morrisville.

In 1800 George Clymer and partners sold an 82 acre parcel to Jesse Palmer and Joseph Watson. One year later, 1 acre of that property was sold to John Johnson who sold it to Mahlon Milner in 1805. Then in 1838 Martin and Mary Bruslin bought a smaller piece of that property and built their home.

It is also known that in 1850 the federal census had Martin Bruslin listed as a 76 year old laborer and wife Mary 65 years old, living in Morrisville. It also indicated they were both born in Ireland.