Burtner House preserves family history
History and heritage are what make people proud of their family and the Burtner House just outside Natrona Heights, Allegheny County, is no different, still standing today more than 200 years after it was built.
“My fourth great-grandfather built the house and then my great-grandfather was born there, which led him to eventually have a farm in Butler on Burtner Road and that is how we came to Butler,” said Nicole Glasgow, who is also the president of the Burtner House Restoration Society.
According to the house’s website, it was constructed from 1818 to 1821 by Philip Burtner along Little Bull Creek. The property was originally a working farm and residence of the Burtner family.
“Philip was a pioneer and a farmer and when he started living on the land back in the day, the property had 250 acres of land,” Glasgow said.
Construction on the house began after Burtner and his wife’s brother, Felix Negley, operated a gristmill together. It was through the gristmill Burtner met his future wife, Margaret Negley.
“My fourth great-grandfather was Philip Burtner and he was married to Margaret Negley, who had an uncle who came to Butler,” Glasgow said. “Margaret Negley came from an East Liberty family and she is the daughter of Alexander Negley, after whom Negley Avenue was named.”
Throughout the years, the house served many purposes, including being a local civic center, regional town hall, election polling location, tax office and meeting place for discussions that led to the construction of the Pennsylvania Canal.
Because of those planning meetings, people involved would travel two days by horse and buggy from Pittsburgh. Since the meetings would sometimes continue until dark, the Burtner family’s children would have to give up their rooms for the men.
The house served five generations of the Burtner family and features five fully-furnished bedrooms, an attic and a basement. Some of the furniture at the historic house is believed to be original. There are pictures and artifacts that people can view from the four generations of Burtner family members who lived in the house.
The original springhouse was also rebuilt to appear as it did when the house was completed in 1821.
Glasgow said she is always meeting people who have some connection to the Burtner family, including people she has known for years who she later discovered were relatives. She is working to get more family members involved and encourage people to care about preserving the house.
The house is designated as the third-oldest stone house in Allegheny County by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, and carries a national historic designation through the National Register of Historic Places.
Glasgow also shared that the house has the distinction of having the longest continuous occupancy by the same family among all the stone houses in Allegheny County, spanning more than 150 years.
However, the historic house nearly met its end in 1972 when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation purchased the house and surrounding land with plans to tear it down to extend a road through the property.
Distant relatives of the Burtner family decided they wanted to save the house and even contacted the governor of Pennsylvania.
Milton Shapp, who was governor of Pennsylvania at the time, arranged for a helicopter to be sent to the Burtner house to stop the wrecking ball. It reached the property within 20 minutes of the demolition beginning and the house was saved.
According to Glasgow, the house eventually went from PennDOT back to Harrison Township so the family could obtain grant money to maintain the historic property.
Glasgow and the Burtner House Restoration Society now work to preserve the house and keep its history alive.
The society does everything for the house, including raising money, maintaining the building and hosting festivals to raise funds. One recent project was raising money to pave the driveway, which was completed Sept. 30.
Glasgow said she hopes the work of the society and the continued involvement of the Burtner family will help preserve the house for future generations.
Those interested in learning more about the house or volunteer opportunities can visit the house’s website.
