North side cemetery walk shows off Butler’s deep history
History was alive at Butler’s North Side Cemetery, when actors brought residents from the 1800s back to life and shared their stories.
Echoes from our Past: Stories from the Cemetery is an annual event presented by the Butler County Historical Society and the North Side Cemetery Association. Attendees walked through the cemetery Saturday, May 17 and listened to the stories of Butler’s past.
Actors, dressed as and portraying former Butler citizens, shared stories and facts from their lifetimes. At this year’s cemetery walk, the former Butler residents featured came from a range of historical time periods.
One was John Armstrong McMarlin, born in 1837 and died in 1913, whose family came to Butler from Northern Ireland. McMarlin and his family helped slaves escaping the South make there way up the Underground Railroad by picking them up near Pittsburgh and hiding them in a wagon, and driving them up toward Butler as part of the escaped slaves’ journey to Canada. McMarlin had several family members who also fought in the Civil War.
Another Butler resident, Mary Genevieve Allen Abrams, was the daughter of a man appointed Consul to Bermuda by Abraham Lincoln. Alive from 1859-1947, she was friends with writer Mark Twain.
One of the portrayed residents, William Watson, died in 1921. He emigrated from Scotland and settled in Butler, before heading west to the Colorado Gold Rush, and fought in the Civil War.
Dozens of current residents participated in each of the groups of people walking through our past, ranging from history buffs to Butler County Community College history students. Brad Pflugh, vice president of the historical society’s board and history teacher from Knoch High School, brought several students from the school’s history club to take in the intrigue of Butler’s former residents.
“There’s so many people that drive by the several cemeteries here, and don’t realize how big they are, and how beautiful it is here, but I also think a lot of people here in Butler don’t realize how many people buried here did such remarkable things,” Plugh said. “Some of this stuff, I didn’t even know until today, and I’m a history teacher.”
Other figures highlighted included Harriet Cooper, originally from Cambridge, England, who opened a tailor shop on Diamond Street. Cooper was heavily involved with the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement. Another was David Cleeland, who was a renowned portrait artist who had work featured in Time Magazine in the 1930s and ‘40s.
In the past, the historical society has highlighted people such as Civil War soldiers, doctors, and other fields of interest. This year, Pflugh said, was a little bit of everything.
Most of the money raised by tickets for the event goes to upkeep of the Lowrie Shaw House, which houses the historical society right behind the Butler County Courthouse. Some will also go toward improving the Little Red Schoolhouse, located at 200 E Jefferson St.
Plugh said the historical society has about five or six events a year, with the cemetery walk being one of the main ones. But this one has been one of the most popular events, with BC3 history majors helping set it up.
He also said the historical society has talked about doing a cemetery walk at Butler’s South Cemetery in the future. The one at the North Side, each year it’s been held, has drawn in people intrigued by our town’s history.
“So I think it’s important to show the community that there’s people here who did such important things, and to also shine a light on the cemeteries around us that we pass every day, and we don’t know how important they can be,” Pflugh said.
