9 historical Butler-built vehicles preserved by local automobile club
A collection of nine Butler-built cars maintained by the Butler Old Stone House Region chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America showcases the history of the automobile — and the noteworthy role Butler County has played along the way.
All nine vehicles have three things in common: the companies that made them are all closed, they were all made in Butler factories and, thanks to the efforts of the Old Stone House chapter, all but one of them are roadworthy.
“We’ve purchased most of them in semi-drivable condition, and then we made them roadworthy,” club member John Pro said. “Every one of these smaller cars have had problems when we brought them in, and since then, we’ve cured those problems.”
The one exception is a 1920 Standard Touring car, which is on display as just an internal frame. Pro says that the club is hoping to accumulate enough parts to one day rebuild the car into a complete automobile again, but it will be some time before that happens.
“We’re such a small group, and we really don’t get any grants to do this,” Pro said. “This one’s kind of on the back burner for now, but someday it’ll be out on the road.”
While the organization takes care of the vehicles, it technically owns only the title to one of them — a blue 1922 Standard. Five other vehicles in the garage belong to Experience Butler County, while the City of Butler owns the title to a 1929 Huselton and a 1941 Jeep prototype.
According to Pro, previous members of the club acquired and restored the blue Standard and the Huselton during the 1980s. The other cars came into the club’s fleet more recently, and — aside from the skeleton Standard — didn’t require quite as much restoration work.
However, keeping the vehicles in tiptop condition is a year-round project.
“All winter long, every other week, we’re up here for at least four or five hours,” Pro said. “Once we do take them back, we go back over them and any problems that have occurred over that time, we try to cure. There's oil changes, there's greasing, there's minor hiccups that go on, some bolts loosen up. All that stuff is cured.”
Of course, finding parts for century-old vehicles can be a bit tricky, but Pro says he has connections.
“Over the years, you start to get connections through different auto groups,” Pro said. “There’s groups out there that are Austin people. There’s groups out there that are Bantam people. There’s groups out there that are Jeep people. And that’s how we maintain.”
Though small in size, he said the club packs passion into its work with classic automobiles. The club currently consists of between 40 and 50 members, but only 15 are considered “active,” he said.
Many saw it firsthand at the Butler-Built Garage Open House on March 16. The event was a showcase of the nine lovingly-restored vehicles from nearly a century ago.
The next Butler-Built Garage Open House is set for 1 to 4 p.m. April 27, at 110 Barracks Road in Butler Township. Other dates include May 18 and June 15.
The Butler-Built Garage event is not the only chance this year to see the organization’s collection of restored, vintage Butler-made automobiles. The club also takes them out to numerous events throughout the summer, including charity events, car cruises and even parades, where the vehicles are taken out and driven.
“We do all the parades that are in Butler,” Pro said. “We’ll be doing Jeep Fest weekend this year. We’re going to be at Butler County History Day. And there’s a July 4 parade in Zelienople. We’ll have the Jeep at that.”
