The freedom and quiet that come with country living makes the northeastern corner of Butler County desirable for the relatively few who call the area home.

Elected officials say the area could use jobs that attract younger people.

Six townships and six boroughs are located in the 149-square-mile northeast area. It is home to a little less than 8,000 people, making up about 4% of the county’s 197,300 population.

The municipalities share some similarities, but also have differences.

Fairview Township has the largest population with about 1,940 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 estimates. Fairview Township has a median household income of $87,188, nearly $7,000 more than county median.

Concord Township is next in population with about 1,333, but the median household income is $59,837.

The median income among Washington Township’s nearly 1,306 residents is $66,914, but its employment rate of 61.9% exceeds the county rate of 59.5%.

Venango Township boasts a median income of $87,750 and an employment rate of 62.5%. It’s population of 1,004 comes mostly from German ancestry, like the rest of the northeastern area. The other nationalities are Irish, English, Polish, Italian, French and Scottish. Minority populations are low throughout the area.

Sparsely populated Allegheny and Parker townships have populations of 474 and 520, respectively. The $61,875 median income in Allegheny Township surpasses the $55,481 in Parker Township.

The number of residents who are 65 or older in northeast communities varies from 28% to 15%.

People and homes are scattered throughout the expanse, with concentrations in Bruin, Eau Claire, Cherry Valley, unincorporated communities like Hilliards and Higgins Corner, and in the Petroleum Valley boroughs of Karns City, Fairview and Petrolia.

Populations in the boroughs are 387 in Bruin, 327 in Eau Claire, 194 in Fairview, 159 in Petrolia, 185 in Karns City and 60 in Cherry Valley, according to the 2022 Census estimates.

Small pockets of new residential development occasionally dot the landscape, but most homes are older and less desirable to younger people, officials said.

“The biggest appeal is the quiet and not a lot of crime,” said Randy Smith, who has served as a Washington Township supervisor for 34 years and is the chairman. “The only thing we lose here is cell service.”

Most residents drive to Butler to buy groceries, but Smith said he doesn’t consider that a disadvantage to living in the township.

“People come here and they want elbow room. They like to hunt. It gives them freedom,” he said.

Census data shows the township’s population is spread out, with a little more than 52 people in each square mile of the township; and the vast majority of people who commute to work drive about 37 miles each way.

The supervisors have kept real estate taxes low, and residents know and look out for each other, Smith said.

Most of the homes in the township are older and new homes “pop up” occasionally, he said, adding that he lives in a farmhouse built in the early 1900s. About five homes with 10- to 15-acre lots were built recently in a 100-acre development, he said.

The township receives good internet service, Smith added.

What the township and most of the area lacks is good-paying jobs for young people, he said.

Allegheny Township is home to the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Business Park, where 14 or 15 businesses employ about 500 people from Butler, Clarion and Armstrong counties, said Chuck Stowe, chairman of township supervisors.

The park has room for additional businesses, and the township is working with the Butler County commissioners to expand water and sewer services in the park, Stowe said.

One of biggest employers in the township is Hunter Truck Sales, which operates a large facility in Eau Claire, he said.

There are a number of natural gas wells in the township and at least six family farms, he added.

Like their neighbors in Washington Township, many residents of Allegheny Township like open space and have long family histories in the area.

“We have people that have lived here for two or three generations. Their grandparents live here, they live here and their grandkids. I’m the fifth generation to live here, fourth on this farm,” Stowe said.

He said both of his fellow supervisors represent the fourth generation of their families.

“We have a lot of open space. People like to hunt,” Stowe said. “I like to feel that it’s safe.”

To go shopping, township residents travel to shopping centers and malls in Butler or Clarion and Venango counties, he said.

“We’re not close to anything, but we’re in the middle of everything,” Stowe said.

He said he has been a supervisor for over 40 years, following in the footsteps of his father, who served as a supervisor and as secretary of the panel. His mother was the judge of elections in the township for 50 or 60 years.

Attracting young people to northeastern Butler County is a challenge, said Leslie Osche, county commissioner chairwoman.

“The greatest concern is making sure that we are addressing our ability to attract and retain young individuals and families who want to work, live and play here, and who take an interest in our ‘make it here’ economy,” Osche said.

Housing that is practical and affordable for young people just beginning their careers is limited. And as young people desire to spend more time on recreation and travel, the need for low-maintenance properties increases, Osche said.

Attracting young people is a subject developers and municipal leaders will need to focus on, especially in the middle and northern part of the county where housing stock has aged significantly, she said.

Most of the homes in Karns City are older, but they sell quickly when they become vacant, said Virgil Cousins, the borough council president who has served on council for 30 years. He said he has lived in his home for 54 years.

He said most residents have lived in the borough for a long time. When they die or move away, young people buy or rent the homes and commute to work, he said.

“I used to know everybody in this town and who their kids are,” Cousins said.

About 56% of the residents own their homes, and renters pay a median rent of $863. The home ownership rate is lower than the 76% rate in the county, according to U.S. Census data.

Residents support each other and the community, and council manages its finances to keep the borough moving forward, he said.

“It is a close-knit community. It’s nothing like the big city. In my neighborhood, people help each other out,” Cousins said.

For that, he said, he gives the credit to God and the Christian people who call the borough home.

The area’s largest companies are chemical manufacturers Calumet Karns City Refining in Karns City and Sonneborn in Petrolia.

“Northeast is home to the Petroleum Valley chemical plants, born in the oil boom era, which are a livelihood to many of the area’s residents. The valley is awesome to see at night when you drive in and see the plants lit up on the hillside, a sign of prosperity and a county that produces things that keep the world moving,” Osche said.

The county has allocated money to assist the Petroleum Valley Regional Water Authority in developing a new water source and infrastructure improvements at the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Business Park, she said. The water authority provides water to 1,200 customers in and around Petrolia.

The Karns City Area School District works with the county human services department to offer support to students and families, Osche said.

She also applauded Allegheny Health Network’s recent launch of a 24/7 ambulance service called Paramedic Response Unit 956.

The new ambulance service combined with ambulance staffing from the Independence Health System, which owns Butler Memorial Hospital, are aimed at improving emergency medical service response in the area, Osche said.