DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker at 701 Mesquite Street tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, every town has a first. A first mayor, a first courthouse, a first this-and-that.
But some firsts carry more weight than others — the kind that took more than ambition to pull off. They took grit, education, and the willingness to go where nobody who looked like you had gone before. In Abilene, Taylor County, Texas, that particular first belonged to a man named Dr.
William H. Butler, Senior. He came into this world in December of 1875, born in Palestine, Anderson County.
He went to grade school there, then high school, and already you can see something stirrin' in him — a hunger for more learning, more preparation, more. So he heads east to Marshall, Harrison County, to attend Wiley College. And still, that wasn't enough.
In 1910, Dr. Butler received his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Now, let that sink in for a moment.
Meharry was one of the very few institutions in the entire United States that issued medical degrees to African Americans at that time. The whole country, and you could count the doors on your fingers. William Butler walked through one of them.
He came to Abilene, and he didn't wait on office space or the perfect situation. He set up his practice right there in his own home at 701 Mesquite Street. That bungalow — craftsman style, wood and stone cladding, wide front gable, a wraparound porch held up by brick columns, exposed rafter tails, a projecting front bay window — that house wasn't just a home.
It was a clinic, a pharmacy, a dental office. Dr. Butler didn't just treat what ailed you.
He could fill your prescription and see to your teeth while he was at it. The community needed him, and he showed up in just about every way a man of medicine could. In June of 1914, he married Beatrice Studervant.
Together they had one child, William H. Butler, Junior — who, I'll tell you, followed his father straight into medicine. The apple didn't fall far from that front porch.
Dr. Butler kept at it, kept that practice running, kept serving Abilene, until he retired in 1945. He and Beatrice then moved to Fort Worth.
He passed away in September of 1947. Beatrice, she came back. Came back to Abilene, back to that house on Mesquite Street, and she lived there until her death in January of 1968.
The two of them are buried together in the Abilene City Cemetery. But here's the thing about that house — it didn't stop giving when Beatrice was gone. Following her death, the home was deeded to Christ House Day Care Center.
Eight local churches came together to support it, helping meet the needs of the children in that surrounding neighborhood, which at the time was primarily African American. A doctor's home became a place where the next generation got their first safe start. That's the story the marker tells.
A man born in 1875 in Palestine, Texas, who earned one of the hardest degrees in the country to earn, built a practice out of his living room, raised a son who became a physician, and left behind a house that kept on healing long after he was gone. Some buildings just hold more history than their walls ought to be able to carry. 701 Mesquite Street is one of them.
What the marker says
Dr. William H. Butler, Sr., was the first African American physician to practice medicine in Abilene. He was born in Dec. 1875 in Palestine (Anderson co.), where he attended grade and high school. He continued his education at Wiley College in Marshall (Harrison Co.). In 1910, Dr. Butler received his degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, one of the few institutions in the U.S. That issued medical degrees to African Americans at the time. After moving to Abilene, Dr. Butler started his medical practice in his home at 701 Mesquite street. In June 1914, Dr. Butler married Beatrice Studervant. The couple had one child, William H. Butler, Jr., who also became a physician. The elder Dr. Butler’s practice kept him busy in the community, as he was not only a practicing physician but also provided pharmaceutical and dental services. After retiring in 1945, Dr. Butler and his wife lived in Fort Worth until his death in Sept. 1947. Beatrice moved back to Abilene and lived in the family home until her death in Jan. 1968. The couple are buried in the Abilene City Cemetery. Following Beatrice Butler’s death, the home was deeded to Christ House Day Care Center and used as a day care for the surrounding neighborhood, which at the time was primarily African American. Eight local churches provided support for the day care to help meet the needs of area children. The Butlers’ house is a good local example of craftsman style architecture. The historic bungalow features wood and stone cladding, a wide front gable and wraparound porch, brick porch columns, exposed rafter trails and a projecting front bay window. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2008