Butler County, Pennsylvania

Butler County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 183,862.[2] Its county seat is Butler.[3] Butler County was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named in honor of General Richard Butler, a hero of the American Revolution.

Butler County
U.S. county
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°55′N 79°55′W
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
FoundedMarch 12, 1800
Named forRichard Butler
SeatButler
Largest cityButler
Area
 • Total795 sq mi (2,060 km2)
 • Land789 sq mi (2,040 km2)
 • Water6.1 sq mi (16 km2)  0.8%%
Population
 • Estimate 
(2019)
187,853
 • Density238/sq mi (92/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts15th, 16th, 17th
Websitewww.co.butler.pa.us
DesignatedJune 11, 1982[1]

Butler County is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Some famous inventions and discoveries were made in Butler County. It was in Saxonburg that the designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, John Roebling, invented his revolutionary "wire rope." At what is now known as Oil Creek, Butler County resident William Smith and Edwin Drake first proved oil could be tapped from underground for consistent supply. The Jeep was developed in Butler County by American Bantam in 1941.

Famous politicians have lived in and traveled through Butler County. George Washington passed through during the French and Indian War. Butler's only U.S. Senator, Walter Lowrie, built a home in 1828 that still stands behind the Butler County Courthouse. The Butler County Historical Society's office is in this home.

Butler's highest ranked federal official ever is William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from 1994 to 1997. He graduated from Butler High School in 1945. In 1923, President Warren G. Harding's funeral train passed through Butler County on its way back to Washington D.C. John F. Kennedy spoke in front of the Butler County Courthouse during the 1960 United States presidential election. Hubert Humphrey also spoke in Butler during this time period. Then in 2004, Vice President Dick Cheney delivered a speech in Saxonburg to rally support for President George W. Bush during the 2004 United States presidential election.

Bret Michaels, lead singer of the rock band Poison, was born here in 1963.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 795 square miles (2,060 km2), of which 789 square miles (2,040 km2) is land and 6.1 square miles (16 km2) (0.8%) is water.[4]

It is the location of Moraine State Park, with the 3,000-acre (12 km2) glacial lake, Lake Arthur. Lake Arthur is used for fishing and sailing, and the surrounding park is used for hiking and hunting.

The county has a humid continental climate (Dfa/Dfb) and average monthly temperatures in Butler borough range from 27.7 °F in January to 72.1 °F in July.

Waterways

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18003,916—
18107,34687.6%
182010,19338.8%
183014,58143.0%
184022,37853.5%
185030,34635.6%
186035,59417.3%
187036,5102.6%
188052,53643.9%
189055,3395.3%
190056,9622.9%
191072,68927.6%
192077,2706.3%
193080,4804.2%
194087,5908.8%
195097,32011.1%
1960114,63917.8%
1970127,94111.6%
1980147,91215.6%
1990152,0132.8%
2000174,08314.5%
2010183,8625.6%
2019 (est.)187,853[5]2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2019[2]

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 174,083 people, 65,862 households, and 46,827 families residing in the county. The population density was 221 people per square mile (85/km2). There were 69,868 housing units at an average density of 89 per square mile (34/km2). The racial/ethnic makeup of the county is 96.5% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, 0.7% from two or more races; and 0.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race. 46.7% German, 24.8% Irish, 15.2% Italian, 9.9% English, 9.2% Polish, 6.3% American, 3.7% Scotch-Irish, and 3.1% French ancestry.

There were 65,862 households, out of which 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males.

Law and government
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[11]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2020 65.6% 74,359 33.1% 37,508 1.6% 1,787
2016 65.7% 64,428 29.2% 28,584 5.1% 5,032
2012 66.6% 59,761 31.8% 28,550 1.6% 1,388
2008 62.9% 57,074 35.5% 32,260 1.6% 1,427
2004 64.3% 54,959 35.2% 30,090 0.4% 376
2000 62.1% 44,009 35.3% 25,037 2.6% 1,803
1996 52.9% 32,038 36.3% 21,990 10.8% 6,563
1992 38.7% 23,656 36.5% 22,303 24.8% 15,171
1988 54.8% 27,777 44.1% 22,341 1.1% 549
1984 55.9% 31,676 43.7% 24,735 0.4% 215
1980 54.7% 28,821 37.4% 19,711 7.9% 4,157
1976 52.5% 26,366 45.0% 22,611 2.4% 1,221
1972 65.1% 29,665 32.2% 14,695 2.7% 1,214
1968 47.7% 21,618 42.9% 19,415 9.4% 4,258
1964 38.8% 17,360 61.0% 27,267 0.2% 95
1960 61.2% 28,348 38.5% 17,805 0.3% 152
1956 65.6% 26,238 34.2% 13,672 0.2% 79
1952 62.0% 25,243 37.6% 15,295 0.5% 185
1948 62.9% 17,449 35.4% 9,818 1.7% 457
1944 60.6% 19,341 38.8% 12,377 0.7% 226
1940 58.2% 19,450 41.5% 13,875 0.3% 114
1936 50.4% 16,772 48.1% 16,008 1.6% 529
1932 54.8% 11,543 41.4% 8,717 3.9% 815
1928 75.5% 19,880 23.9% 6,283 0.6% 164
1924 69.5% 13,113 18.3% 3,462 12.2% 2,305
1920 66.9% 10,467 24.5% 3,829 8.7% 1,357
1916 47.2% 5,458 39.3% 4,544 13.5% 1,566
1912 11.4% 1,273 35.9% 4,022 52.8% 5,920
1908 54.2% 6,584 38.6% 4,698 7.2% 877
1904 63.4% 6,596 30.7% 3,187 5.9% 616
1900 55.9% 6,303 39.6% 4,465 4.6% 517
1896 55.4% 6,821 41.7% 5,127 2.9% 360
1892 50.2% 5,019 41.6% 4,161 8.2% 824
1888 53.8% 5,358 40.1% 3,986 6.1% 607
1884 52.4% 5,217 42.6% 4,236 5.0% 497
1880 51.0% 5,269 45.2% 4,678 3.8% 393

Elected county officials

County judges
  • Thomas Doerr (President Judge)
  • William Robinson
  • Timothy McCune
  • Kelly Streib
  • William Shaffer
  • S. Michael Yeager

District judges
  • Kevin P. O'Donnell
  • Bill O'Donnell
  • Lewis Stoughton
  • Sue Elaine Haggerty
  • David Kovach
  • B.T. Fullerton
  • Wayne Seibel

State Senate

State House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

Politics

The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Butler was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. In the 2000 U.S. presidential election, the county was carried by Republican George W. Bush 62% to Democrat Al Gore 35%. In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, the county was carried by Republican George W. Bush 64% to Democrat John Kerry 35%. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the county was carried by Republican John McCain 63% to Democrat Barack Obama 35%. Additionally, John McCain carried every Western Pennsylvania county except for Allegheny County and Erie County, in sharp contrast to previous years, like 2004, in which Democratic candidate John Kerry carried 5 counties in Western Pennsylvania. As of May 2007, there are 121,719 registered voters in Butler County.[12]

  • Democratic: 43,583 (30.42%)
  • Republican: 79,638 (55.58%)
  • Other Parties / Independent: 20,067 (14.00%)

Education
Map of Butler County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

Colleges and universities

Technical schools

Public school districts

In 2008, Pennsylvania School Districts were ranked by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on student academic performance as demonstrated in 3 years of PSSA results.[13]

Public Libraries

The Butler County Federated Library System (additionally known as the Library System of Butler County) includes the ten listed libraries. Each library is managed by its own Board of Directors. The majority of the funding for these libraries comes from state grants, user fines and donations with additional financial contributions from Butler County.[14] The first Butler library originated in 1894 with the Literary Society of Butler[15] in what is now known as the Little Red Schoolhouse.[16] The Butler Area Public Library, built in 1921, was the last Carnegie library built in Pennsylvania. In the intervening 27 years the library was independently operated.[15] From 1921 to 1941 the library quadrupled the number of patrons served.[17] In 1987 the County Commissioners, through a resolution, founded the Butler County Federated Library System.

Media

Recreation

Parks

There are 2 Pennsylvania state parks in Butler County.

  • Jennings Environmental Education Center is the home of the only protected relict prairie in Pennsylvania.
  • Moraine State Park The gently rolling hills, lush forests and sparkling waters disguise a land that has endured the effects of continental glaciers and massive mineral extraction. Each year over one million people visit the 16,725-acre (67.68 km2) park, yet never realize that many people helped restore the park from prior coal mining and oil and gas drilling practices. Today, the park is an outstanding example of environmental engineering achievement. During the third great ice advance about 140,000 years ago, a continental glacier dammed area creeks making three glacial lakes. To the north, Slippery Rock Creek filled giant Lake Edmund. To the southeast, extinct McConnells Run filled tiny Lake Prouty. In the middle, Muddy Creek filled the medium-sized Lake Watts.

Before the glacier dam. Slippery Rock and Muddy creeks flowed north while extinct McConnells Run flowed south. The glacier dammed Lake Prouty on the edge of the drainage divide. Eventually Lake Pouty spilled over and rushed to the south, carving Slippery Rock Creek Gorge. Lakes Watts and Edmund drained into the gorge, digging it deeper and making Slippery Rock and Muddy creeks flow south. Areas of the 400-foot (120 m) deep Slippery Rock Gorge may be seen at nearby McConnells Mill State Park.

The glacier created a landscape of rolling hills topped with hardwood trees and swamps in the valley bottoms. Moraines containing gravel, sand and clay were draped upon the landscape and silt was left on the extinct lake bottoms. Reference to: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateParks/parks/moraine/moraine_history.aspx

Trails

Transportation

Airports

Major roads and highways

Transit

Communities
Map of Butler County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Cities and Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue).

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Butler County:

City

Boroughs

Townships

Census-designated places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Unincorporated communities

Several of these communities, most notably Renfrew, Lyndora, Herman, Sarver, Cabot, Boyers, and Forestville, have post offices and zip codes, but aren't officially incorporated under Pennsylvania law, and exist entirely within townships.

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Butler County.[18]

† county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2010 Census)
1 † Butler City 13,757
2 Fernway (former CDP) CDP 12,414
3 Homeacre-Lyndora CDP 6,906
4 Shanor-Northvue CDP 5,051
5 Meridian CDP 3,881
6 Zelienople Borough 3,812
7 Slippery Rock Borough 3,625
8 Fox Run (former CDP) CDP 3,282
9 Seven Fields Borough 2,887
10 Meadowood CDP 2,693
11 Oak Hills CDP 2,333
12 Slippery Rock University CDP 1,898
13 Evans City Borough 1,833
14 Mars Borough 1,699
15 Saxonburg Borough 1,525
16 Nixon CDP 1,373
17 Prospect Borough 1,169
18 Chicora Borough 1,043
19 Unionville CDP 962
20 Harrisville Borough 897
21 Harmony Borough 890
22 East Butler Borough 732
23 Lake Arthur Estates CDP 594
24 Valencia Borough 551
25 Connoquenessing Borough 528
26 Bruin Borough 524
27 Callery Borough 394
28 West Liberty Borough 343
29 Eau Claire Borough 316
30 Portersville Borough 235
31 Petrolia Borough 212
32 Karns City Borough 209
33 Fairview Borough 198
34 West Sunbury Borough 192
35 Cherry Valley Borough 66
See also: List of films shot in Pittsburgh

Butler County has often been used as a setting for films shot in the North Pittsburgh area. Such films include:

Films set in Butler County, but not necessarily filmed there.

Novels set in Butler County.

Benjamin's Field, a trilogy by local author J. J. Knights[22]

See also

References
  1. "PHMC Historical Markers Search" (Searchable database). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  5. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  8. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 24, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  10. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  11. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  12. "Running for Office" (PDF). Dos.state.pa.us. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
  13. Pennsylvania Public School Rankings, Pittsburgh Business Times. May 23, 2007.
  14. Holland, B. (2017, December 31). County of Butler, Pennsylvania Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31st 2017. Retrieved from www2.co.butler.pa.us › controller › Butler_CAFR_2017
  15. Butler County Federated Library System. (2015). Butler Area Public Library. Retrieved from https://www.bcfls.org/butler-area-public-library
  16. Butler County Historical Society. (2019). The Little Red Schoolhouse. Retrieved from https://butlerhistory.com/the-little-red-school-house/
  17. Pennsylvania economy league Butler. (1941). The Pennsylvania economy league surveys the Butler public library. Butler, PA.
  18. "2010 U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  19. Keener, Craig (2010-07-22). "Stone Church site of sci-fi film" Butler Eagle. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  20. Stonesifer, Jared (2010-06-09). "Angle Action in Valencia" Butler Eagle. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  21. "'A Separate Life' Mars actress, director takes film to Cannes festival". Butler Eagle. May 26, 2011.
  22. "Login - ButlerEagle.com". www.butlereagle.com. Retrieved 20 March 2018.

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