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Our Sites
Senator Walter
Lowrie House
Est. 1828
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Built in 1828 by United States Senator Walter Lowrie, the House is the last of its architectural style in Butler and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Senator Lowrie, wife Amelia, and their children resided here when Congress was in recess during Washington D.C.’s suffocating summers. Lowrie sold the house in 1836 to attorney George Washington Smith, who lived here briefly before selling the house and grounds to Charles Craven Sullivan in 1839. The Sullivans owned the property until the last descendant, Isabelle Shaw Adams, bequeathed her family’s historic home and all its contents to BCHS in 1986. Thanks to her generosity, this is one of very few House Museums in the country furnished with objects original to the family who occupied it!
U.S. Senator Walter Lowrie of Butler. The Senator built the brick mansion that houses BCHS in 1828.
The BCHS office and library are in the House and open free to the public Wednesdays through Fridays 11am to 3pm. We offer guided tours of the House Museum during business hours or by appointment. Admission: $5.00 per person, $4.00 for Seniors or Military personnel with valid ID, and free for Historical Society members. No charge for children under five, but they must be accompanied by one adult per two children.
The Sullivan family, which owned the Lowrie House from 1839 - 1986.
Little Red
School House
Est. 1838
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NOTE: The Little Red School House will be under construction during the spring and summer of 2024. Please call ahead for tour availability.
The Little Red School House was constructed in 1838, and was the first public school built in Butler as a direct result of the Public School Act of 1835. It was used as a classroom until 1874, when a larger facility, the Jefferson Street School, was built next door. The building was then used as an office, Butler’s public library, a meeting room, and a center for the Red Cross during World War II.
After a larger building replaced it in the 1870s, the Little Red School House served many purposes, including headquarters for the local DAR chapter in the 1920s.
After the School House was gifted to the Historical Society, BCHS recreated a one-room schoolhouse for tours and classes. In 2024, the LRSH will get a new roof, repointed walls, and a reimagined interior.
In 1966, the Butler School District permitted the Society to use the building as a museum, and it continued in that use until 1991, when it closed due to structural deterioration. The school district deeded the building to the Society in 1993, and a restoration project began to return the building to its original one-room school condition.
The site is now a living history museum, which recreates the one-room school experience for children and adults.
Group tours are provided by special arrangement between the months of May and September annually. Tour fees do apply: Adults = $5 per person, children 10 & under = $3 per child. Seniors and Military personnel (with valid I.D.) = $3. BCHS Members are free!
Cooper Cabin
Est. 1810s
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NOTE: Cooper Cabin will be under construction during the spring and summer of 2024. Please call ahead for tour availability.
As Samuel Cooper built his backwoods cabin in the 1810s, he never imagined that four generations of Coopers would be born there, or that his granddaughter Nancy (often referred to as Aunt Nancy) would call it home for all of her 101 years! Nancy's own grandson gifted his family's home to the historical society in 1976 to maintain and use as an educational center, which we've done for over forty years. The Cabin today represents the rustic nature the Cooper family upheld, and the perseverance of one strong family.
"Aunt Nancy" Cooper with one of her much-loved dogs on the front step of Cooper Cabin.
The Cabin is furnished with family heirlooms and memorabilia as well as other period pieces. Outbuildings on the grounds include a spinning house and a spring house.
Cooper Cabin is open seasonally, between the months of May and September annually. A tour of Cooper Cabin Homestead is $10 per person, BCHS Members are free of charge!
Nancy Jane Cooper's grandson gifted his family's property to BCHS in 1976. Since then, the cabin has served as a museum and educational center.