Butler County’s history producing oil, steel and the Jeep is well-documented.

But community historians also have taken care to remember the rise and fall of mom-and-pop shops, document now-extinct ballclubs and bands, and preserve the memory of long-dead war heroes.

On Saturday, 12 historical sites in the county welcomed visitors to journey back in time and discover more about the past. Guests could stop by each location to research ancestry or contribute their own family memorabilia.

At the Evans City Historical Society, volunteer Natalie Price sees an eclectic mix of artifacts pass through the doors, including a glass-slide projector from a church, complete with a light-socket plug that predates wall electrical sockets.

“It’s always surprising to get something you never knew existed,” Price said.

“At the moment, much of what we have is military, but it isn’t always that way.”

Next to arrowheads and a musket ball from a farmer’s field are hats by milliner James Campbell, whose wares were considered some of the finest in the area in the 1950s, as well as paintings by artists Art and Chuck Ripper, and portraits of general store owner and theater actress Josie Ifft.

“I think the photos are my favorite,” Price said. “I like to place them to what was going on in my own family at that time in history.”

The museum’s current project is examining the 1914-1917 oil boom in Evans City, a time when, as photographs at the society can attest, many backyards had oil derricks.

But recent history can be found at the museum, too. Several items related to the 1968 horror classic “Night of the Living Dead are there.

“I even watched it being filmed a few nights,” said Price.

Historical and landmarks societies in Slippery Rock, Prospect, Lancaster Township, Zelienople, Harmony, Evans City, Mars, Valencia and Saxonburg all opened their doors Saturday to guests, as did sites such as Old Stone House in Brady Township and Cooper Cabin Pioneer Homestead in Cabot.

Part of the allure of each site, for both volunteers and guests, is its eerie familiarity.

“I guess I just like all the history here because I have stuff in my garage like this,” said Buzz Allen, a volunteer at the Valencia Area Historical Society.

The society, lodged in the basement of the former Cranberry Butcher Shop, has artifacts such as popular barber John “Red” Charlton’s chair. Charlton served the area from the 1920s through the 1970s, Allen said.

Visitors also can see drums from the former Valencia Volunteer Fire Department Marching band or a medical bag belonging to Dr. Meade Baker Jr.

More ominous pages from history can be seen, too.

Photographs of garage mechanic/composer Benny Jordan’s minstrel shows presented in the 1940s depict all of the actors in blackface.

The past and future collide like opposing locomotives on the same rail at The Mars History and Landmark Society.

Housed in a former train station and flanked by tracks on each side, belonging to the B&O Railroad and the former Pittsburgh/Butler Short Line (1907-1931), respectively, the society building was moved to its current location in 2000.

“We cut it in five or six pieces and took the roof off. It was in pretty bad shape, and it took us a few years to get it to (the condition) it’s in now,” said volunteer Bob Lang, who grew up in Mars.

“I just always had a soft spot for here.”

The society’s restored 1921 B&O Railroad caboose is a hit with guests, but the soon-to-be-built, 7.5-gauge railroad that will surround the Brickyard Hill Road property is sure to be its biggest attraction in the future.

“We’ll be hauling children and adults all over here,” Lang said.

“If I have anything to say about it, the train will be ready in time for the Applefest in October.”

In Lancaster Township, light is being shed on the past by volunteers who refused to let their history slip by uncataloged.

“We decided it would be nice to collect the history of the township for our children and people who move into the township in the future,” said Edna Scheidemantle.

Along with a few other dedicated volunteers, Scheidemantle formed the Lancaster Township History Center about 13 years ago. It occupies half of a small building tucked behind Sally’s Cider Press on Route 19.

So far, the center’s volunteers have cataloged and photographed hundreds of barns, churches and cemeteries in the township, as well as seven one-room schoolhouses, one of which is the township’s municipal meeting building and polling place. Civil War veterans also have found their way from the past to the center’s archives.

Scheidemantle said that even though much historical research can be done online, amateur historians can enjoy a sense of location and history by being physically present at a historical place or touching an artifact from their ancestors.

“It gives you a feeling, a closeness ... my relative stood here,” she said.

Scheidemantle said the most interesting artifact donated to the center has been an 18-inch by 8-inch “funeral” sign.

“It was placed on the horse-drawn hearses carrying caskets to the cemetery,” she explained.

Cheerier artifacts exist, too, such as a 1950s receipt from McCombs Brothers auto repair in Evans City showing the cost of a used pressure plate, a new clutch plate and six hours of labor: $20.35. A gas receipt from the same time shows the price at the pump for 8 gallons of gas as $2.28.