Butler County
Butler, Butler County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Formed March 12, 1800, from Allegheny County. Named for Gen. Richard Butler, Revolutionary officer. A young George Washington had crossed this area, 1753. County seat was established at Butler in 1803, and the county was home of the Harmony Society, 1804-15.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Butler County was set off from sprawling Allegheny County in 1800 as Pennsylvania's western frontier filled with settlers, and it honors General Richard Butler, an officer of the Revolution. A young George Washington had passed through this rugged country in 1753 on his mission to the French forts. In its earliest years the county also sheltered the Harmony Society, a German communal religious colony that farmed and prospered here from 1804 to 1815.
Why it matters
The county's story — a Revolutionary namesake, Washington's frontier errand, and a utopian immigrant commune — captures how the trans-Allegheny West drew both restless settlers and idealists testing new ways of American life.
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Related people
- · Richard Butler
- · George Washington
Themes & tags
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