The effort to recognize the country’s 250th birthday is well underway.

On May 9, we saw a flag-raising ceremony held at the county courthouse. Then, on May 17, Forward Township held its America250 event at Glen Eden Barn on Dufford Road to highlight the township’s unique place in American history.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to A250 events.

For instance, later this summer, on July 10 and 11, the Butler Cultural District will be the site of an event called Steeples and Stacks Heritage Weekend — this first heritage weekend will bring together artists, performers and the community to “honor yesterday, experience today, and imagine tomorrow.”

There’s plenty of history to learn about in Butler County. In fact, the Butler Eagle has presented a monthly publication on the second Tuesday of the month for the past two years highlighting stories, many of which have told the origin stories of area boroughs and townships and spoke to the region’s rich history.

The event from last weekend at Glen Eden Barn highlighted one of the region’s historical happenings. It was in Forward Township that the nation’s first president George Washington experienced an attempt on his life. The May 17 event included reenactors portraying Washington and Christopher Gist, who was Washington’s traveling companion at that time.

The Steeples and Stacks coming up in July in the City of Butler, will offer history exhibits and tours and opportunities to better understand the churches (steeples), industry (stacks) and more that were a part of our history.

There’s certainly quite a push this year to recognize the nation’s 250th anniversary this year.

We encourage the community to take advantage of the opportunity, experience Butler County today and learn about its past.

— TL