The predominant feature of Beaver County is the Ohio River, and its history is the story of its relationship to its rivers. Its many water routes,including the Beaver River for which it was named, gave rise to many Native American communities. The lands on which they thrived were eventually acquired by Pennsylvania in two treaties, in 1768 and 1784. Beaver County was created in 1800 when it was carved out of parts of Allegheny and Washington Counties, Since then it has been home to Utopian groups, high quality glass and pottery manufacturing, oil and Big Steel, all of which thrived due in part to the county’s access to water. The steel industry, in the form of Jones and Laughlin and U.S. Steel, arrived in the early 20th century and thrived through the 1970’s, swelling the county’s population and its economy. The economic effects of deindustrialization and the loss of ‘Big Steel’ were severe. But Beaver County has survived. Its motto: ‘Divided By Its Rivers, United By Its People.’