Butler Historical Committee
Butler Museum
The Blue Tour
Saturday, May 6, 2023
12pm to 5pm
Butler Historical Committee
Butler Museum
Event Information
- View exhibit of artist Edward Lamson Henry’s work including the work of local artists
- View DVD presentation of the 1957 Pequanoc Rubber Mill Fire, the largest industrial Fire in the nation that year
- Free post cards, coloring books, pencils, and buttons will be available
- Parking is available in the museum lot and on the street. Limited handicap parking and access also available.
The Butler Museum is housed in the former New York Susquehanna and Western Railroad station. Constructed in 1888, it was remodeled in the 1890’s and in 1907, when a freight room was added to the northwestern end of the building. A major restoration took place from 2011 to 2015. Purchased by the Borough of Butler for a museum just in time for the Bicentennial Celebration in 1976, the museum houses a large collection of artifacts of local and regional significance. Exhibits highlight the social, educational, fraternal, political, and business life of the community. Unique to the Butler Museum are artifacts pertaining to the Statue of Liberty, statue designer Frederic Bartholdi, and his friend Richard Butler, for whom the town is named. Mr. Butler was an important member of the committee that raised the funds to construct the statue’s pedestal.
Displays also include products manufactured by the American Hard Rubber Company, the area’s largest employer from the 1880’s to the late 1950’s. Development of items such as Ace Bowling Balls and Ace Combs can be traced from blueprints and salesman samples to the finished products.
Our resource center presents the opportunity to view past copies of local newspapers, almost a century of Butler High School yearbooks, and a pictorial history of Main Street, Butler.
