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Butler Post Office spans 153 years of service By Lesley Hughesstar staff lhughes@starhq.com If you don't count the time that the Butler Post Office was relocated in 1948, one could say that it has been in business for 153 years. After the Tennessee Valley Authority flooded the town of Old Butler during its extensive impoundment projects, the post office was moved to the new Butler where it now serves over 1,600 customers. Postmaster Ray Daniels said a benefit to working in the small Butler community as compared to his former location in Johnson City is, "it is not as fast paced up here as it is down there." "People are pretty friendly up here. Everybody knows everybody else. It feels like a close knit family," Daniels added. The close knit attitude hasn't changed much from the Old Butler days according to Anna Dugger, Butler Museum President of the Board. Taking advantage of an opportunity to preserve history, the museum has the old P.O. Boxes, counter, and scales, creating a miniature version of the almost 100-year-old post office. "The counter, private mailboxes, and other items were rescued from the post office before the town was flooded," Dugger said. When the museum opened in 2002, many residents of Old Butler were amazed at the display of the old post office. Some even walked right up to their old P.O. Box and instinctively dialed the combination and opened the box. Dugger even remembers which box was her family's. The Butler Museum, 123 Selma Curtis Road, opens to visitors in March. Cost of admission is $2 for adults, $1 for students and $1 for seniors. For more information, please call (423) 768-3880. The Butler Post Office is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and can be contacted at (423) 768-2376.
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