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. Its county seat is Butler. 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 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 1994–1997. 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, of which is land and is water.
It is the location of Moraine State Park, with the 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 and average monthly temperatures in Butler borough range from 27.7° F in January to 72.1° F in July.

Waterways

As of the census 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. There were 69,868 housing units at an average density of 89 per square mile. 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

Elected county officials

Unlike the rest of traditionally Democratic Western Pennsylvania, Butler County has leaned towards the Republican Party. 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.

Colleges and universities

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.

Public Libraries

The Butler County Federated Library System 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. The first Butler library originated in 1894 with the Literary Society of Butler in what is now known as the Little Red Schoolhouse. 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. From 1921 to 1941 the library quadrupled the number of patrons served. In 1987 the County Commissioners, through a resolution, founded the Butler County Federated Library System.

Parks

There are 2 Pennsylvania state parks in Butler County.
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 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

Airports

Transit

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

s 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.
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.
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Butler County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1† ButlerCity13,757
2Fernway CDP12,414
3Homeacre-LyndoraCDP6,906
4Shanor-NorthvueCDP5,051
5MeridianCDP3,881
6ZelienopleBorough3,812
7Slippery RockBorough3,625
8Fox Run CDP3,282
9Seven FieldsBorough2,887
10MeadowoodCDP2,693
11Oak HillsCDP2,333
12Slippery Rock UniversityCDP1,898
13Evans CityBorough1,833
14MarsBorough1,699
15SaxonburgBorough1,525
16NixonCDP1,373
17ProspectBorough1,169
18ChicoraBorough1,043
19UnionvilleCDP962
20HarrisvilleBorough897
21HarmonyBorough890
22East ButlerBorough732
23Lake Arthur EstatesCDP594
24ValenciaBorough551
25ConnoquenessingBorough528
26BruinBorough524
27CalleryBorough394
28West LibertyBorough343
29Eau ClaireBorough316
30PortersvilleBorough235
31PetroliaBorough212
32Karns CityBorough209
33FairviewBorough198
34West SunburyBorough192
35Cherry ValleyBorough66

In popular culture

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