Howard E. and Mary Butt House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Howard E. and Mary Butt House in Cameron County. Now settle in, because this one starts with a man who had a vision, a grocery cart, and a whole lot of South Texas ahead of him. In 1929, entrepreneur Howard E.

Butt made a move, a big one. He relocated the headquarters of his developing grocery business to Harlingen. That right there tells you something about a man.

You don't move headquarters to a place you're not serious about. And Howard was serious. The very next year, he and his wife Mary bought themselves a house.

They purchased it from its builders, John and Ruth Townsend, just a few months after it was completed. Now, about that house. The architectural style is best described as Italian Renaissance, distinguished by Palladian windows and spiral entry columns.

Standing in Harlingen, Texas. You have to appreciate the audacity of that. Howard and Mary set up their home life in a piece of Old World elegance right there in the Rio Grande Valley, and then got to work.

During the 1930s, Howard's business, H.E.B. Grocery, grew to more than 28 stores across the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas. Twenty-eight stores.

In a decade that wasn't exactly known for easy times. And while the business was spreading across the region, Howard and Mary were planting roots in the community too, known for their philanthropy and civic work in Harlingen. They lived in that Italian Renaissance house until 1940, and they held onto it until 1943.

The Palladian windows kept watch over all of it. The spiral columns stood right where Howard and Mary left them. Some houses just hold their ground.

What the marker says

Howard E. and Mary Butt House In 1929 entrepreneur Howard E. Butt moved the headquarters of his developing grocery business to Harlingen. The following year, Howard and his wife, Mary, bought this house from its builders, John and Ruth Townsend, a few months after its completion. During the 1930s, Howard's business (H.E.B. Grocery) grew to more than 28 stores in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas. Known also for their philanthropy and civic work in Harlingen, Howard and Mary Butt lived here until 1940 but owned the house until 1943. Distinguished by its Palladian windows and spiral entry columns, the architectural style of the house is best described as Italian Renaissance. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000