History of East Butler
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Please note all this information is from 1976 or earlier.
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W.D.Brandon
Founder of East Butler in the late 1800'sHe was born at Conoquenessing Township, Butler County, on Nov. 1, 1847. He was ready to enter Army service in the Civil War when word was received of Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.Mr. Brandon was a member of the first class of Washington and Jefferson College in 1868 and was the oldest graduate of the school. Last November he cast his twenty-second consecutive Republican Presidential ballot for Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. He cast his first vote in 1868 for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.Mr. Brandon, who hung out his shingle in 1871, had gone daily to his office in the Butler Savings and Trust Building his ill health caused his confinement in the hospital.Washington D. Brandon, believed to be the oldest practicing lawyer in the nation, died in 1951 at Butler Memorial Hospital at the age of 105.
J. Campbell BrandonIn the late 1800's, a rich plot of ground located approximately two and one-half miles east from the Butler city line was a rich and thriving farm area. This piece of ground was made up of four farms. It was rich farmland and the four farms which occupied our borough were made up of 640 acres.The four farms which occupied the 640 acres were the Heinzer Farm, built in 1810 and now occupied by Mrs.Effie Covert and family. The Stevenson Farm built in 1822... known later as the Miller Farm. The Johnson Farm built in 1823 and now occupied by the Fundark Family. The Stevenson Jr. Farm built in 1851 and now occupied by the Lawrence Hay family.Around the year 1895, a man by the name of John Brandon and his two sons John Jr. and J. Campbell Brandon were out walking one beautiful Sunday afternoon and decided that this rich farmland would be a great investment in real estate. After several months of negotiations with the farm owners, the property was purchased under the name of Brandon and Sons.A company was formed which was known as the Butler Land & Improvement Company. John Campbell Sr. was named president of the Land Company for many years. His death came in 1951 at the ripe old age 105. Since that time, his son J. Campbell Brandon took over as head of the Butler Land & Improvement Company and now resides in Phoenix, Arizona.There are still plots of ground in East Butler today which are still owned by J. Campbell Brandon. Many industries were attracted to our community. One of the reasons was that a double set of railroad tracks, BR & P. and the B.& O. Railroad both had right of ways in the lowlands of our borough running alongside the Connoquenessing Creek.
The 4 original Farm HousesTop left- The Heinzer Farm Built in 1810Top Right- The Johnston FarmBuilt in 1850Bottom Left- The Stevenson FarmBuilt in 1825Bottom Right- The Stevenson FarmBuilt by Mr. Stevenson for his son in 1826
In 1903 the first industry was-Eleanor Iron and Steel Company then 1906—Pittsburgh Hickson Bed Works Company known as the Bedstead came to East Butler. Now that these two companies had purchased property, housing development must start. It was told to the committee that as many as three houses a day were under construction. The first row of houses were built on Grant Street. Then houses were built on Broadway and Madison Avenue.East Butler in 1910Hundreds of workers of the Greek Nationality were hired and brought to East Butler. It was told to the committee that as many as 1,000 Greek descendants lived in East Butler at one time. All of them employed at the Bedstead They were used as nainters in the Bedstead works.
Aerial View of East Butler in 1914An old hotel was located where the East Butler Post Office is at the present time. It was called, by the residents of East Butler, the Sheep Shed. This building housed as many as 200 of the Greek workers. Other Greek people were located in tents and other buildings that they themselves constructed as living quarters.
The History of East Butler's Mail Service
East Butler had their own Post Office on October 22, 1907.
This picture was taken in front of the Butler Post Office which, at that time, was located in the basement of the Mellon Bank Building."Rural Free Delivery" was a term used in the early years to describe the type of mail delivery.We are told that mail was first delivered to East Butler by a Mr. McMurray on horseback or with horse and buggy or sleigh.Details or a picture of this carrier could not be obtained.However, moving on in the years, Mr. P. H. Lehnerd pictured above (back row) was a carrier from 1901 until 1932 on the R. D. #2 route. His route included East Butler (until we obtained our own post office), Carbon Center, Woodbine, North Oakland, St. Joe,and he was succeeded on this route byhis son, Wendell Lehnerd.
As industries began to move into East Butler, people also moved here and East Butler had their own Post Office in October 22, 1907 with Mr. John L. Ralston as Postmaster. The Post Office was located in the Ralston Store.August 3, 1912, Mr. George V. (Mike) Glenn became Postmaster and the store purchased by Mr. Glenn and his brother-in-law, Mr. Walsh. The Pittsburgh-Hixon and Valvoline Oil Company were doing a booming business and Mr. Glenn needed help in the Post Office. It was Hazel (Greer) Davis who came to his rescue. Coming to East Butler after completing Business School, Hazel recalls how her hand would be bruised at tne end of the day when the Valvoline would send out their statements to all customers-each piece of mail had to be hand-stamped. Hazel married Earl and they moved to Oil City.December 17, 1915, Mr. Glenn gave up his post to Mr. Daniel H. (Harp) Sutton who became Postmaster. (no picture available) January 8, 1920, Grace E. (Whitmire) Bowser was Postmistress until November 15, 1920. About this time, politics determined who was to hold the office of Postmaster—A change of politics meant a change of faces in the Post Office. November 15, 1920, George V. Glenn again assumed the position of Postmaster until January 31, 1936. Brady O. Fair worked in the store and also was a Clerk in the Post Office. Olive Roberts was a Clerk from 1922-1925 (no picture available).In these early years, the train played an important part in the mail pickup and deliveries.East Butler was fortunate in having accommodations so near. Remember the pole that was built below the track at the station? The wire and hook extended to hold the mailbag. As the train passed by the station, someone on the train would grab the mail and at the same time, a bag of mail was tossed off onto the platform. One split second and this exchange was accomplished! Children would watch this transaction with amazement. Were you one of them? Did you ever go to the station to wave to the passengers as the train passed.Remember the circus train? Enough of that—back to the mail delivery—-January 31, 1936, Mr. Harry D. Farnen became Postmaster of the East Butler Post Office and he held this position until he was forced to retire in 1944 due to illness. 1937-1938 a George V.Ahern was a Clerk (no picture available.) Mrs. Brady (Olive) Fair was a Clerk in the Post Office from January-June 1942 (no picture available).Mrs. Clemete (Annie) Graham, Mr. Farnen's assistant, took over the job of Postmistress on May 5, 1944 and continued until December 1945. Mrs. Joseph (Mabel) Vandervort was a Clerk from 1942 until 1945. We have other names, but no pictures, for some of those who worked in the Post Office as Clerks-remember seeing Cleola Marcus, Isabelle (Kabel) Fair and there were probably others but we cannot obtain the information.
George SchnurPostmaster 1945-1972December 21, 1945, Mr. George Schnur was the Postmaster and he recalls the Post Office being moved to the corner as you enter East Butler in "Mac" McClain's building in 1955. Mrs. Graham remained in the Post Office as Assistant to Mr. Schnur and Mrs. Dorothy (Bauldoff) Critchfield as Substitute Clerk from 1956 until her retirement in 1972.In 1950, Mrs. Jerome (Eleanor Graham) Michaels became a Clerk and for a while, it was a Mother/Daughter working side-by-side. Eleanor is still working at the Post Office with Mr. Richard Ballantine, Postmaster and when help is needed, they call on Mrs. Donald (Twila Hay) Crouch. In-cidentally, Twila's husband, Don, is Postmaster of the Butler Post Office (he had to come to East Butler to find Twila).
In 1965, plans began to locate a site for a new Post Office. The lot across from the creek and Firehall on the main road seemed to be the ideal spot and was centrally located to accommodate the people of East Butler. There was one problem—the Kenneth Crispin family lived there! In 1966, Crispins sold their property and began to make arrangements to move their house across the street. Blocks were knocked out from under the house to enable large beams to be placed under the entire floor and the house was rolled on to the bed of John D. Clark's truck.The large crowd of people watching were given a "thrill" as the house was turned. It tipped as though it was going to upset but Mrs. Crispin said that when they later went into the house, a stack of dishes in the cupboard hadn't even moved. Amazing! Construction began on the new Post Office and was finally completed in 1967.
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