History preserved and repurposed in Connoquenessing Township
Connoquenessing Township, as one of the largest and oldest communities in Butler County, has witnessed much of the county’s history. From farmhouses to schoolhouses, the township has been, and still is, a place where what once made the community special thrives.
According to the Connoquenessing Township website, it was established as the fourth community in Butler County in 1792, making it over 234 years old. Originally known as Petersville, the township’s first birth was recorded on March 10, 1792, and that date also serves as the town’s unofficial anniversary.
Petersville, by 1804 known as East Connoquenessing, once incorporated all or part of the Adams, Brady, Franklin, Forward, Cranberry, Jackson, Lancaster, Muddy Creek, Worth and Connoquenessing Borough communities, but was reduced to its current borders and renamed Connoquenessing Township by 1854.
One constant in Connoquenessing Township is its rural nature. Angela Fleeger, chairman of the township supervisors, said Connoquenessing “was originally known for its farming,” especially in its early years.
Over 200 years later, Fleeger added that “We still have a lot of these farms,” which Fleeger notes “Still play an important role in the community.” Whether they produce beef and dairy, wool or fleece, these farms, protected today by the Agricultural Security Areas Act of 1991, allow farmsteads to compete and thrive, protected from certain land taxes and legal challenges. Reflecting on the 35 year anniversary of that law, Fleeger said that Connoquenessing Township is “Very proud of the fact that we still have a number of these farms in our township, to preserve our rural character.”
Though energy booms came with oil in the 1880s, mining in the 1900s, and, until the 1970s, a new fracking-and-pipeline energy system that brings new investments to the region today, agriculture, it seems, is the constant industry in Connoquenessing.
Though the community began with farmhouses in areas like Whitestown, the influx of immigrants in the 1850s necessitated new churches, markets and, especially, schools.
This led, by 1889, to four one-room schoolhouses being built across the township, according to Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company Chief Matt McConnell. These included Buttercup School on Route 68, the Eagle Mill School, the Rock Port School on Reiber Road and the Graham School on Shannon Road. All of these schoolhouses closed in 1957 with the opening of Connoquenessing Elementary School.
Both the Rock Port and Graham Schools are still around today, though they have been converted into homes. McConnell, who is married to a descendant of Graham settlers, lives in the Graham School, named after their family’s ancestors. McConnell, when asked about living this part of local history, said, “It’s really cool, and we’ve been here for years now. It’s home.” When asked whether there were any unique problems to living in a building with roots in the 1800s, McConnell responded, “not so much,” at least as compared to the average home.
Both the agricultural and educational legacies of the Connoquenessing Township, from the farmsteads and schoolhouses, stand as testaments to a community built over centuries. This legacy, whether protected or repurposed, now allows residents to take pride in their town and, in some cases, even makes it possible to call Connoquenessing Township home.
