Although Doylestown's origins date to 1745 when William Doyle obtained a license to build a tavern on what is presently the Northwest corner of Main and State Streets, Doylestown Borough's role as a governmental center dates to 1813 when it replaced Newtown as the County Seat of Bucks, one of the original counties created by William Penn in 1682. With the Courthouse came the various branches of County Administration and as an outgrowth, the development of "Lawyers Row", a collection of Federal Style Offices around the Courthouse that marks Doylestown as the legal center of Bucks County.

Municipal Government in Doylestown dates to 1838 with the incorporation of the Borough of Doylestown, one of approximately 2,500 municipalities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The present type of Borough Government is the "Weak Mayor" form which governed all incorporated municipalities during the 19th century. Most of the present cities in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Allentown, etc.) were Boroughs first and became cities as their population increased. Boroughs have a strong and dominant Council and a weak executive. The governing body of the Borough is this elected Council and the executive is the Mayor. The Mayor is elected at Large to a 4- year term; Council members are elected by Ward to 4-year overlapping terms. The Borough of Doylestown is divided into three Wards each represented by three Council members. The powers of Council are broad and extensive, covering virtually the whole range of urban municipal functions.