{{Use American English|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox road |state=PA |name=Butler Pike |marker_image= |map= |length_mi=9.8 |length_km= |length_round= |length_ref= |established=1712 (route established)<br>1849–1896 (turnpike)<br>1896 |maint=[[Pennsylvania Department of Transportation|PennDOT]], [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]], and [[Ambler, Pennsylvania|Borough of Ambler]] |direction_a=Southwest |terminus_a=Fayette Street in [[Conshohocken, Pennsylvania|Conshohocken]] |junction={{plainlist|1= *[[Ridge Pike]] in Harmonville *[[Germantown Pike]] in Plymouth Meeting *{{jct|state=PA|PA|73}} southwest of [[Ambler, Pennsylvania|Ambler]] *{{jct|state=PA|PA|309}} northeast of Ambler *{{jct|state=PA|PA|63}} in [[Maple Glen, Pennsylvania|Maple Glen]] }} |direction_b=Northeast |terminus_b={{jct|state=PA|PA|152}} in Horsham Township |counties=[[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery]] }}
'''Butler Pike''' is a road in [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]], that runs northeast from [[Conshohocken, Pennsylvania|Conshohocken]] to [[Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Horsham Township]]. For most of its {{convert|9.8|mi|km|adj=on}} length, it is a county road and forms a boundary between townships.
==Route description== Fayette Street begins at the [[Schuylkill River]] and is the [[main street]] of the [[Conshohocken, Pennsylvania|Borough of Conshohocken]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.conshohockenpa.gov/information/history-of-conshohocken.aspx |title = History of Conshohocken }}{{full citation needed|date=January 2020}}</ref> At 11th Avenue, the borough boundary, Fayette Street's name changes to Butler Pike, and it continues northeast along the boundary between [[Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Plymouth Township]] and [[Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania|Whitemarsh Township]] as part of State Route 3016 (SR 3016), a four-lane undivided road and an unsigned [[quadrant route]]. The road passes through residential areas and intersects North Lane, where SR 3016 ends and Butler Pike becomes a county road. After this intersection, Butler Pike becomes a three-lane road with a [[center left-turn lane]] and passes a mix of homes and businesses, coming to a junction with [[Ridge Pike]] in a commercial area in the community of [[Harmonville, Pennsylvania|Harmonville]]. The roadway narrows to a two-lane undivided road and heads through residential neighborhoods, curving slightly to fully enter Whitemarsh Township as it bypasses the [[Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse]], and reaching an offset intersection with [[Germantown Pike]] in [[Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania|Plymouth Meeting]].
[[File:Butler Pike NB at Cold Point Hill.jpg|left|thumb|Northbound Butler Pike approaching Cold Point Hill; Butler Pike veers off to the left, Militia Hill Road veers off to the right, and Cold Point Hill Road continues straight over the hill.]] Butler Pike continues northeast along the boundary between Plymouth Township to the northwest and Whitemarsh Township to the southeast as a two-lane undivided road, passing industrial parks and heading under [[Norfolk Southern]]'s Morrisville Line (formerly the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s [[Trenton Cutoff]]). The road passes near residential development and intersects Plymouth Road/Flourtown Road in the community of [[Cold Point, Pennsylvania|Cold Point]]. From here, Butler Pike passes more homes and curves northwest to fully enter Plymouth Township as it bypasses Cold Point Hill, while Cold Point Hill Road continues northeast along the township line. Butler Pike makes a sharp turn to the east before curving back to the northeast, recovering its path along the township line and passing under the [[Pennsylvania Turnpike]] ([[Interstate 276]]). The road continues through wooded areas of homes and commercial development, at the Township Line Road intersection becoming the boundary between [[Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania|Whitpain Township]] to the northwest and Whitemarsh Township to the southeast. The road runs through wooded residential areas before it comes to an intersection with [[Pennsylvania Route 73|PA 73]] in an area of businesses in the community of [[Broad Axe, Pennsylvania|Broad Axe]]. Following this intersection, Butler Pike continues northeast through a mix of fields, woods, and homes. The road curves east-northeast to fully enter Whitemarsh Township before it heads northeast into [[Upper Dublin Township, Pennsylvania|Upper Dublin Township]] and crosses Morris Road as it heads into forested areas.<ref name=GM>{{google maps |url = https://www.google.com/maps/dir/40.0829217,-75.2973604/40.1881301,-75.1832914/@40.1348101,-75.309602,19176m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m14!4m13!1m10!3m4!1m2!1d-75.2761785!2d40.1052932!3s0x89c6bc3caf00cd1d:0x144bf141bd2a7d4a!3m4!1m2!1d-75.2354801!2d40.1481212!3s0x89c6bb687393927b:0xcefd38a691d5bcb6!1m0!3e0 |access-date = January 19, 2019 }}</ref><ref name=PennDOTMontgomery>{{cite map |author=Pennsylvania Department of Transportation |author-link=Pennsylvania Department of Transportation |title = Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Highway Map |url = http://www.dot7.state.pa.us/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/Montgomery_GHSN.PDF |year = 2018 |location = Harrisburg |publisher = Pennsylvania Department of Transportation |access-date = January 19, 2019 }}</ref>
[[File: Butler Avenue EB at Spring Garden Street Ambler.jpeg|thumb|right|Butler Avenue in Ambler]] The road crosses the [[Wissahickon Creek]] and enters the borough of [[Ambler, Pennsylvania|Ambler]], where the name changes to West Butler Avenue. The roadway heads east-northeast through commercial areas before it crosses [[SEPTA]]'s [[Lansdale/Doylestown Line]] at-grade north of [[Ambler station]]. At this point, West Butler Avenue heads into the commercial downtown of Ambler. At the Main Street intersection, the road becomes East Butler Avenue and runs through more of the downtown area. The road heads northeast past more businesses before it runs through residential areas. On the eastern border of Ambler, the road comes to an intersection with [[Bethlehem Pike]]. Upon crossing Bethlehem Pike, Butler Pike leaves Ambler for Upper Dublin Township and passes through residential areas, coming to an intersection with Susquehanna Road in the community of [[Rose Valley, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Rose Valley]]. Butler Pike reaches a partial interchange with the [[Pennsylvania Route 309|PA 309]] freeway, with access to northbound PA 309 and access from southbound PA 309; the missing movements are provided via an interchange with Susquehanna Road. Past the PA 309 interchange, the road continues northeast through wooded residential areas and comes to a junction with Norristown Road in the community of [[Three Tuns, Pennsylvania|Three Tuns]]. From here, Butler Pike passes more residential neighborhoods as it heads into [[Maple Glen, Pennsylvania|Maple Glen]], where it intersects [[Pennsylvania Route 63|PA 63]] and crosses into [[Horsham Township, Pennsylvania|Horsham Township]]. Butler Pike runs through wooded areas of homes and comes to its terminus at an intersection with [[Pennsylvania Route 152|PA 152]].<ref name=GM/><ref name=PennDOTMontgomery/>
==History== [[File:Hovenden House & General Store from South 2016.JPG|thumb|Offset intersection of Butler Pike (foreground) and Germantown Pike in Plymouth Meeting]] The route was laid out in 1712 by [[Simon Butler]] (1684–1764), a [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Bucks County]] miller and justice of the peace, for whom the road was later named.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iX1Srw9aDBUC&pg=PA12 |page = 76 |title = Ambler |last = Quattrone |first = Frank D. |year = 2004 |series = Images of America |location = Charleston, South Carolina |publisher = Arcadia Publishing |isbn = 0-7385-3483-8 |via = [[Google Books]] }}</ref> It provided access to the Schuylkill River at Matson's Ford (Conshohocken),<ref>{{cite book |first = Theodore Weber |last = Bean |title = History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania |volume = 2 |location = Philadelphia |publisher = Everts & Peck |year = 1884 |page = 771 }}</ref> and facilitated communication among the [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] [[Friends meeting house|meeting houses]] in [[Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse|Plymouth Meeting]], [[Upper Dublin Friends Meeting House|Upper Dublin]], [[Horsham Friends Meeting|Horsham]], and central Bucks County.
In the early 19th century, Butler Pike became part of a route used in the [[Underground Railroad]]. For more than 20 years, George and Martha Maulsby Corson sheltered fugitive slaves in [[Hovenden House, Barn and Abolition Hall|their house at the corner of Germantown and Butler pikes]].<ref>{{cite news |first = Hiram |last = Corson |title = Norristown Group |work = The Abolitionists of Montgomery County |location = Norristown, Pennsylvania |publisher = Historical Society of Montgomery County |year = 1900 |page = 35 }}</ref> The Underground Railroad stops were located {{convert|5|to|10|mi|km}} apart, and under cover of darkness a conductor would escort the enslaved to the next stop.<ref>{{cite news |first = Ron |last = Avery |title = Plymouth Meeting Quakers Hid Slaves – It's A Shrine Of The Underground Railroad |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = June 19, 1995 }}{{page needed|date = January 2020}}</ref>
Two sections of Butler Pike were converted into [[Toll road|turnpikes]] in the mid-19th century—the Whitemarsh and Plymouth Turnpike, which improved the road between Germantown Pike and Conshohocken, and operated from 1849 to 1896; and the Upper Dublin and Plymouth Turnpike, which improved the road between Germantown Pike and [[Pennsylvania Route 152|Limekiln Pike]], and operated from 1855 to 1896.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://morethanthecurve.com/the-freedom-valley-chronicles-butler-pike/ |title = The Freedom Valley Chronicles—Butler Pike }}{{full citation needed|date=January 2020}}</ref>
==Major intersections== {{mileposts|date=January 2020}} {{PAinttop|county=Montgomery}} {{PAint |location=Conshohocken |mile=0 |road={{jct|state=PA|QR|3016|county1=Montgomery|name1=Fayette Street}} |notes=Southern terminus }} {{PAint |township1=Whitpain |township2=Whitemarsh |mile= |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|73|name1=Skippack Pike}} }} {{PAint |location=Upper Dublin Township |mile=6.0 |road=Morris Road }} {{PAint |location1=Ambler |location2=Upper Dublin Township |mile=7.1 |road=[[Bethlehem Pike]] }} {{PAint |location=Upper Dublin Township |type=incomplete |mile= |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|309|dir1=north|name1=Fort Washington Expressway|city1=Montgomeryville}} |notes=Interchange; access to northbound PA 309 and access from southbound PA 309; missing movements provided by Susquehanna Road }} {{PAint |township1=Upper Dublin |township2=Horsham |mile= |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|63|name1=Welsh Road}} }} {{PAint |location=Horsham Township |mile=9.8 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|152|name1=Limekiln Pike}} |notes=Northern terminus }} {{PAintbtm|keys=incomplete}}
==See also== *{{Portal-inline|U.S. Roads}} *{{Portal-inline|Pennsylvania}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{commonscat-inline|Butler Pike (Montgomery County, Pennsylvania)}}
[[Category:Roads in Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Transportation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Former toll roads in Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Historic trails and roads in Pennsylvania]]