Butler County, Pennsylvania
Butler County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 193,763. 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. Saxonburg was founded as a Prussian colony by John A. Roebling, a civil engineer, and his brother Carl. After farming  for a time, Roebling returned to engineering, and invented his revolutionary "wire rope.", which he first produced at Saxonburg. He moved the operation to Trenton, New Jersey. He is best known for designing his most famous work, the Brooklyn Bridge, but designed and built numerous bridges in Pittsburgh and other cities as well. 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. U.S. Senator Walter Lowrie, the only senator from Butler, built a home in 1828 that still stands behind the Butler County Courthouse. The house has been adapted for use by the Butler County Historical Society. Butler's highest-ranked federal official is William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from 1994 to 1997. He graduated from Butler High School in 1945. George Washington passed through this area during the French and Indian War. In 1923, the funeral train of President Warren G. Harding passed through Butler County on its way 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 campaigned in Butler. In 2004, Vice President Dick Cheney spoke in Saxonburg to campaign for President George W. Bush in 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 (0.8%) 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 ("Dfa"/"Dfb") and average monthly temperatures in Butler borough range from 27.7 °F in January to 72.1 °F in July. Demographics. 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 (85/km). There were 69,868 housing units at an average density of 89 per square mile (34/km). 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. Politics. Butler County has long been one of the  most consistently Republican counties in Pennsylvania. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win it was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, when he won a national landslide and carried all but four counties in the state. In the 2000 U.S. presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 62%, while Democrat Al Gore received 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 February 21, 2022, there are 134,745 registered voters in Butler County. Education. 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. 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. Recreation. 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 Communities. 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: 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. † "county seat" 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 The Pennsic War, an annual medievel camping event by the Society for Creative Anachronism, is fought  in Butler County. Its site becomes the fourth most populous place in the county for a few weeks each year.