An open field in dense forest gave Clearfield Township its name
Clearfield Township’s name is a reminder that the first European colonists in the area were far from the first people to live here.
In 1798, when the area that would eventually become the township was first being settled, James and Samuel Milligan claimed land near Buffalo Creek. Some members of the family found a field that showed recent evidence of cultivation by Native Americans, and that cleared field became the namesake of the township when it was organized less than 10 years later, in 1804.
The township’s website tells the story this way.
“When the early pioneers now known as Clearfield Township, Butler County, arrived in the area around 1794, they were surprised to discover a large square of cleared land near a settlement owned by the Milligan Family on Buffalo Creek. From its condition, they concluded that it was an Indian corn field. The freshly turned ground suggested cultivation was recent. The name ‘Cleared Field’ or ‘Clearfield,’ seemed appropriate in describing the area in the otherwise dense and almost impenetrable forests. So, upon organization of the township in 1804, the name became official.”
The 1895 book “History of Butler County Pennsylvania” lists about a dozen families who moved into the area starting in 1798, with Patrick McBride being the first.
“Patrick McBride, a native of Donegal County, Ireland, led the way into the forest, in 1798, built his cabin on a 400 acre entry, 100 acres of which was donated to him by Archie McCall, agent for the land owners, in recognition of his first and successful settlement.”
Many of the other original settlers were from Ireland, as well, including John Coyle, Arthur O’Donnell and Dennis Dugan. Dugan and his family were among the first Catholics in Clearfield Township. Another of the first Catholic settlers was John Slator, a French soldier who had fought in the American Revolution.
The first settlers soon had plenty of company. Six years after first arriving, the township was organized, and six years after that, in 1810, there were nearly 300 people living in the area.
While many of the first settlers were Catholic, it would take more than half a century to build a church in the township. St. John Catholic Church was built in 1853, and before that, people traveled to one of the Catholic churches in the surrounding townships or Mass was celebrated in people’s homes.
While there aren’t any municipalities in Clearfield Township, there have been several unincorporated communities over the decades. Coylesville was started in the 1830s by John Coyle, who had been living in the area for about 30 years by that time.
More than 25 years later, in 1856, a man named Peter Fehnel bought 113 acres in Clearfield Township and brought two nephews, Daniel and Andrew, with him to clear the land.
Peter Fehnel’s son, also named Peter, and one of the nephews, lived in the area and raised large families. A history of Fenelton by the Butler County Genealogical Society attributes the name to this.
Fenelton soon was home to a church that served both Lutheran and Methodist Episcopal congregations, but that closed around the time of the Civil War.
The first Post Office in Fenelton opened in 1890, but closed just a few years later. A few years after that, though, it was reopened and remains open today.
“The Fenelton post office was reestablished on August 23, 1898 when the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad laid a line of track through the Fenelton community,” according to the Genealogical Society. “The railroad was more convenient for mail deliveries than to send parcels via stagecoach to the Coylesville area.
“Peter Fennell was appointed as postmaster. Philip S. Fennell was reappointed as postmaster on Sept. 21, 1907. Later his wife Sarah took over the duties in January 1915 and held them until she retired in 1940.”
The first 50 years of the township saw huge growth.
By 1853, the population had exploded, going from under 300 to nearly 2,000 residents.
In 1860, though, the township was divided, resulting in its current size of 23.6 square miles and leaving it with about 870 residents.
The township grew steadily throughout the 20th century, starting out with fewer than 1,000 residents and reaching more than 2,700 by the 2000 U.S. Census. That has fallen slightly in the ensuing decades, with the 2010 Census putting the population at 2,645, and the 2020 Census listing 2,430 residents.
