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History of Butler County, Pennsylvania
One hundred years ago the territory lying north and west of the Allegheny river was a wilderness, inhabited principally by wild beasts and Indians. The solitude of nature was yet unbroken by the advancing tide of civilization, and the wisest statesman did not dream of the wonderful changes which the progress of a century has produced. The first bands of adventurous and resolute pioneers that penetrated the forests of Butler county with the intention of permanent settlement, found a land fertile as heart could wish, fair to look upon and fragrant with the thousand fresh odors of the woods in early spring. The long, cool aisles of the forest led away into mazes of vernal green, where the deer bounded by unmolested and as yet unscared by the sound of the woodsman's axe or the sharp ring of his rifle. The few Indian villages within the confines of the county soon disappeared; the primitive forests gave way to cultivated fields, and the persevering industry and courage of the first settlers were at last rewarded in the peaceful possession of happy homes and the blessings of a civilized community.
The material that comes within the legitimate scope of a history of Butler county, may appear commonplace when compared with that embodied in State or National history: nevertheless, the faithful gathering and compilation of facts relating to the Aboriginal and pre-American period, the coming of the white race to occupy the soil, and the dangers, hardships and privations encountered by the pioneers while engaged in advancing the standards of civilization, together with the material growth and social development of the county, was a work of no small magnitude. It involved the examination of many official documents and reports found in the archives of the State; the consultation of numerous authorities; the careful sifting of the county and borough records; the perusal of scores of newspaper files wherein passing events were chronicled, and the interviewing of descendants of the pioneers in every part of the county.
The preparation of this exhaustive work was under the personal supervision of R. C. Brown, Esq., senior member of the firm, whose long experience in this line of historical effort was a guarantee of its faithful execution.
He was assisted in his labors by Messrs. M. A. Leeson and John Meagher, of Chicago, and John F. Meginness, Esq., of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the last being the author of the very complete history of Butler borough embraced in Chapters XXI, XXII and XXIII. The biographical sketch of Gen. Richard Butler, in Chapter VI, in whose honor the county and seat of justice were named, was contributed by Dr. William H. Egle, State Librarian, who also furnished the print from which we engraved the title page portrait of that distinguished patriot.
The several chapters of personal and family biography are among the most important features of the work. The data for these sketches were obtained from the individuals and families to whom they relate, and contain a vast fund of valuable information concerning the ancestry and history of Butler county people. In nearly every instance the sketch was submitted to the subject or family for correction, and if errors are found in these sketches the responsibility rests upon those who were given every reasonable opportunity to correct them.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER I.
Physical Features... 17-23
CHAPTER II.
Aborigines and Explorers... 24-36
CHAPTER III.
Public Lands and Surveys... 36-41
CHAPTER IV.
The Pioneers... 42-64
CHAPTER V.
Pioneer Reminiscences... 65-74
CHAPTER VI.
County and Township Organization... 74-92
CHAPTER VII.
Transactions of the Commissioners... 93-109
CHAPTER VIII.
Public Buildings... 110-114
CHAPTER IX.
Political Affairs... 115-134
CHAPTER X.
The Bench and Bar... 134-161
CHAPTER XI.
The Medical Profession... 162-171
CHAPTER XII.
The Press... 172-185
CHAPTER XIII.
Schools and School Laws... 185-192
CHAPTER XIV.
Internal Improvements... 193-202
CHAPTER XV.
Agriculture... 202-210
CHAPTER XVI.
The Temperance Cause... 211-216
CHAPTER XVII.
Early Military History... 217-229
CHAPTER XVIII.
War of the Rebellion... 229-269
CHAPTER XIX.
The Butler Oil Field... 269-294
CHAPTER XX.
The Butler Gas Field... 295-299
CHAPTER XXI.
Butler Borough... 299-328
CHAPTER XXII.
Butler Borough (Continued)... 328-353
CHAPTER XXIII.
Butler Borough (Continued)... 353-382
CHAPTER XXIV.
Butler Township... 383-387
CHAPTER XXV.
Connoquenessing Township... 387-396
CHAPTER XXVI.
Jackson Township... 396-401
CHAPTER XXVII.
Zelienople Borough... 401-409
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Harmony Borough... 409-416
CHAPTER XXIX.
Evans City Borough... 417-428
CHAPTER XXX.
Forward Township... 429-434
CHAPTER XXXI.
Cranberry Township... 434-440
CHAPTER XXXII.
Adams Township... 440-446
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Middlesex Township... 446-452
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Penn Township... 452-459
CHAPTER XXXV.
Jefferson Township... 460-465
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Saxonburg Borough... 466-475
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Clinton Township... 476-481
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Buffalo Township... 481-486
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Winfield Township... 487-493
CHAPTER XL.
Clearfield Township... 494-499
CHAPTER XLI.
Summit Township... 499-505
CHAPTER XLII.
Donegal Township... 505-511
CHAPTER XLIII.
Millerstown Borough... 512-530
CHAPTER XLIV.
Fairview Township... 530-534
CHAPTER XLV.
Fairview Borough... 535-541
CHAPTER XLVI.
Petrolia Borough... 542-551
CHAPTER XLVII.
Karns City Borough.. 551-556
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Oakland Township... 556-562
CHAPTER XLIX.
Concord Township... 562-568
CHAPTER L.
Clay Township... 568-572
CHAPTER LI.
West Sunbury Borough...572-580
CHAPTER LII.
Centre Township... 580-585
CHAPTER LIII.
Franklin Township....586-589
CHAPTER LIV.
Prospect Borough... 590-595
CHAPTER LV.
Lancaster Township... 595-599
CHAPTER LVI.
Muddy Creek Township... 600-602
CHAPTER LVII.
Portersville Borough... 603-608
CHAPTER LVIII.
Worth Township... 609-614
CHAPTER LIX.
Brady Township... 614-619
CHAPTER LX.
Slippery Rock Township... 619-623
CHAPTER LXI.
Centreville Borough... 624-633
CHAPTER LXII.
Mercer Township... 634-636
CHAPTER LXIII.
Harrisville Borough... 636-641
CHAPTER LXIV.
Marion Township... 641-646
CHAPTER LXV.
Cherry Township... 647-652
CHAPTER LXVI.
Washington Township... 652-659
CHAPTER LXVII.
Venango Township... 659-664
CHAPTER LXVIII.
ParkerTownship... 665-669
CHAPTER LXIX.
Allegheny Township... 670-674
CHAPTER LXX.
Biographical Sketches... 674-831
CHAPTER LXXI.
Biographical Sketches... 831-944
CHAPTER LXXII.
Biographical Sketches... 945-1083
CHAPTER LXXIII.
Biographical Sketches... 1083-1203
CHAPTER LXXIV.
Biographical Sketches... 1203-1281
CHAPTER LXXV.
Biographical Sketches... 1281-1331
Index... 1333-1360
Map of Butler County... 17
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Butler county was named after Gen. Richard Butler, a complete and carefully-compiled biographical sketch of whom appears in Chapter VI. It is bounded by Venango county on the north, Beaver, Lawrence and Mercer counties on the west, Allegheny county on the south, and Armstrong county on the east. Its geographical center is in latitude 40 degs., 45 mins. north, and longitude 2 degs., 47 mins., 30 sees, west of Washington, D.C. Its area is 814 square miles, or 529,960 acres, divided into thirty-three townships, and re-subdivided into fifty-seven election precincts.
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