The Bucks County Playhouse is located on the site of a former grist mill on the banks of the Delaware River, 90 minutes from New York City in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The original structure was built in 1790 when owner Benjamin Parry rebuilt the Hope Mills, which had recently burned down. The newly christened New Hope Mills inspired the village to change its name from Coryells Ferry to New Hope.
Facing demolition in the 1930s, the site was saved when a small band of artists, including Broadway playwright and Bucks County resident Moss Hart, helped rally the local community to renovate it as a theater. The Bucks County Playhouse opened on July 1, 1939, with a production of
Springtime for Henry, featuring Edward Everett Horton.