Timeline
Cranberry Township Through Time
Key dates and events in the history of Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania.
Before 1750
Seneca, Lenape, and other Native peoples travel the Venango Path through present-day Cranberry Township, connecting the Forks of the Ohio to Presque Isle on Lake Erie.
Source: PA Historical and Museum Commission, Venango Path Marker (1995)
1749
Celoron Expedition
Captain Celoron de Blainville leads a French expedition down the Allegheny River, crossing the northeast corner of Butler County and claiming the region for France.
Source: R.C. Brown, History of Butler County (1883), Ch. II
December 27, 1753
Twenty-one-year-old George Washington and Christopher Gist travel the Venango Path through present-day Cranberry Township, returning from a diplomatic mission to French-held Fort Le Boeuf.
Source: PA Historical and Museum Commission, Venango Path Marker; R.C. Brown, History of Butler County (1883), Ch. II
1783
Pennsylvania purchases approximately 720,000 acres from the Iroquois Nation to compensate Revolutionary War veterans with depreciated pay, including all of present-day Cranberry Township.
Source: PA State Archives, Depreciation Lands Records
1796
The Graham brothers, Benjamin Johnston, Alexander Ramsey, Samuel Duncan, and others become the first permanent European settlers in the Brush Creek neighborhood.
Source: R.C. Brown, History of Butler County (1883), Ch. XXXI, p. 435
1796
The Franklin Road, the first wagon road northward from Pittsburgh, is opened over the ancient Venango Path route.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
March 12, 1800
Butler County is formally created from Allegheny County, encompassing the settlements at Brush Creek.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
1803
Samuel Duncan erects the first saw mill in the township on Brush Creek, along with a distillery noted for fine whisky.
Source: R.C. Brown, History of Butler County (1883), Ch. XXXI, p. 435
March 12, 1804
Cranberry is established as one of the thirteen original townships of Butler County, covering approximately 81 square miles.
Source: R.C. Brown, History of Butler County (1883), Ch. XXXI, p. 435
1806
Rev. Reid Bracken organizes Plains Presbyterian Church, the first church in Cranberry Township. Services are initially held in groves and under a tent.
Source: R.C. Brown, History of Butler County (1883), Ch. XXXI, pp. 436-437; Plains Church Marker (2006)
1813
Matthew Graham establishes the Black Bear Tavern on the Pittsburgh and Mercer road, which serves as the main stopping place for travelers for thirty years.
Source: Waterman, Watkins & Co., History of Butler County (1883), p. 228
1831-1833
First Mills on Brush Creek
Matthew Graham erects a saw mill in 1831 and the first grist mill on Brush Creek in 1833, establishing the township's early industry.
Source: R.C. Brown, History of Butler County (1883), Ch. XXXI, p. 435
1854
Township Boundaries Reduced
Cranberry Township is reduced from 81 to approximately 25 square miles when Adams, Forward, and Jackson townships are carved from its territory.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
1869
St. John's Lutheran Church Organized
St. John's German United Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Church, formerly St. Daniel's Church, is formally organized in Cranberry Township.
Source: R.C. Brown, History of Butler County (1883), Ch. XXXI, p. 439
1896
Oil Industry Arrives
The Henderson, Garvin, and Duncan oil fields in Cranberry Township begin producing, bringing the oil boom to a farming community.
Source: S.H. McKee, 20th Century History of Butler County (1909), p. 496
July 2, 1908
The Pittsburgh, Harmony, Butler & New Castle Railway begins operations, with Crider's Corners as a stop in Cranberry Township. It is the township's first rail connection.
Source: S.H. McKee, 20th Century History of Butler County (1909), p. 496; Harmony Museum
1916
Of the township's 180 property owners, 137 are farmers. Hope Lutheran Church organized the same year.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
August 15, 1931
The final Harmony Line trolley arrives at the Harmony car barn at 4:48 a.m., ending 23 years of interurban rail service to Cranberry Township.
Source: Harmony Museum; Crider's Corners Marker (1997)
1945
William Powell buys the 71-acre farm that will become the last working agricultural parcel in increasingly suburban Cranberry Township.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History; Butler Eagle (March 10, 2023)
1950
The PA Turnpike opens with a Route 19 exit serving Cranberry, beginning the highway-driven transformation of the township. Population: 1,045.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
1957
The Fernway Plan subdivision brings 480 new homes, pushing Cranberry's population past 2,000 for the first time in its reduced boundaries.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
1971
I-79 creates a high-speed north-south corridor through Cranberry Township, accelerating suburban growth. Population reaches 4,873.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
1984
Seven Fields Secedes
Seven Fields separates from Cranberry Township to become an independent borough.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
1989
I-279 completes the direct expressway connection from Cranberry to downtown Pittsburgh, triggering the fastest period of growth in township history.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
2004
A $44.3 million interchange connecting Route 228 and I-79 to the PA Turnpike opens, providing direct highway connections in all directions.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History
2009
Westinghouse Electric Company opens its new world headquarters at Cranberry Woods, becoming the township's largest employer.
Source: Westinghouse/CBS Pittsburgh; Cranberry Township Official History
2015
UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex Opens
The Pittsburgh Penguins and UPMC open a practice facility and sports medicine complex in Cranberry Township, named for Mario Lemieux.
Source: Wikipedia, Cranberry Township
March 2, 2023
Andy Hack, executor of Denton Powell's estate, gifts the 71-acre Powell Farm to Cranberry Township for preservation as an agricultural heritage site.
Source: Butler Eagle (March 10, 2023); Cranberry Township website
2024
Giant Eagle moves its corporate headquarters to Cranberry Woods, joining Westinghouse and MSA Safety. Township population exceeds 33,000.
Source: Cranberry Township Official History