From rural to suburb — the history of Buffalo Township
Buffalo Township was one of the four original townships when Butler County was formed in 1800, along with Slippery Rock, Connoquenessing, and Middlesex. The land that comprised the original Buffalo Township included the entirety of what are now Winfield, Clearfield, and Donegal townships, as well as parts of the current Clinton, Jefferson, and Summit townships.
However, Butler County’s map was substantially redrawn twice in the 19th century — first in 1804, then again in 1854 — increasing the number of townships in the county to its current number of 33, and significantly reducing Buffalo Township to its current size.
The first settlers to Buffalo Township land arrived just prior to the turn of the 19th century. These included Irish immigrants George Bell and Robert Elliott, who staked out land in the area in 1795, and Benjamin Sarver, who settled in the area the following year. Sarver would later establish industry in the township by setting up a grist mill.
Later in the century, the township would be divided into several villages, the largest of which was Sarversville — initially named Walley when it was first surveyed in 1840, but later renamed in 1858 in honor of Sarver. Other villages included Monroeville and Ekastown, the latter of which was settled by the Ekas family. The name Ekastown still exists in modern-day Buffalo Township, in the form of Ekastown Road.
Unlike other parts of Butler County, Buffalo Township’s land did not offer any oil underground. What it did offer was coal, and plenty of coal mines popped up in the township during the late 19th century, including one near the present-day Sarver Volunteer Fire Company hall. According to the book “Yesterday in Buffalo Township & Sarver,” the coal mining of the past has led to many acres of township land potentially being undermined and vulnerable to subsidence.
In 1871, the railroad — specifically, the Western Pennsylvania Railroad — arrived in Buffalo Township for the first time, allowing goods from Buffalo and from neighboring townships to be transported back and forth.
Today, the remnants of what was the “Butler Branch” of the railroad make up the backbone of the Butler-Freeport Community Trail, a 21-mile “rails-to-trails” project running from Butler to Freeport borough in Armstrong County, passing through Buffalo Township. The first segment of the project, from Cabot to Sarver, opened in October 1992, and after years of legal hurdles from adjacent property owners, the project was completed in 2015.
Today, the top tourist attraction in Buffalo Township is undoubtedly Lernerville Speedway, which provides five months of auto racing excitement for Western Pennsylvanians each year at its 0.4-mile short track.
However, for decades prior to the track’s opening in 1967, a very different sort of attraction existed at the site of what is now Lernerville Speedway.
Lernerville Park was founded as an amusement park during the 1920s, and featured attractions including 18-hole miniature golf, multiple athletic fields, a swimming pool, a Ferris wheel, and even a skating rink.
The amusement park closed during the 1940s, although the skating rink stayed alive into the 1970s.
When it comes to Buffalo Township history, few people would know more than Albert Roenigk, who served on the township’s board of supervisors for 46 years until he opted to retire at the end of 2025.
According to Roenigk, Buffalo Township’s transition from an agricultural and rural area to a suburban area started during the 1960s, with the construction of the first housing developments.
“The first real housing developments were Scenic View and Edgewood on 356, and Crescent Hill. Those were built in the 60s,” Roenigk said. “But since then, there have been so many.”
In recent decades, Buffalo Township has experienced a housing boom, with the addition of new housing developments such as Sarver Mills, Twin Oaks, and Laurel Hills, which have added hundreds of single-family homes and townhomes. As a result, the population of the township has exploded from 6,827 in 2000 to an estimated 8,070 in 2024, according to U.S. Census data.
More housing developments are planned for the future, such as Sparrows, a planned 120-acre development along Route 356 with a mix of townhomes, single-family homes, and retail space.
“It seems when they do one, it doesn't take long for them to build out,” Roenigk said.
The township’s first movie theater, Cinema 356, opened its doors in July 1974, on the site of what is now a GetGo station. An early multiplex theater, Cinema 356 offered four screens. The cinema lasted until 2002, when its successor, South Pike Cinemas, opened at the adjacent shopping center.
Even outside of the crowded Route 356 corridor, commerce and industry flourish today in Buffalo Township. Companies with a major presence in the township include Oberg Industries, a stamped metal manufacturer located next-door to Lernerville Speedway, as well as Penn United Technologies, Dynamic Ceramics, and Hei-Way Asphalt.
“Oberg is one of the best tool-and-die industries in the country, but I think they’ve diversified,” Roenigk said. “They’re more than just tool and die. One of the things they make is artificial hips and knees out of stainless steel that they put in your body.”
