Howard E. and Mary Butt House
Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1929 grocer Howard E. Butt moved his growing business's headquarters to Harlingen, and the following year he and his wife Mary bought this newly built house from John and Ruth Townsend. Through the 1930s his H.E.B. Grocery expanded to more than 28 stores across the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas, while the couple became known for philanthropy and civic work. The Italian Renaissance-style home, marked by Palladian windows and spiral entry columns, was theirs until 1943.
Why it matters
The house is tied to the origins of H-E-B, one of Texas's largest and most enduring family businesses, illustrating how Depression-era entrepreneurship grew into a regional institution.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Howard E. Butt
- · Mary Butt
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
City of Harlingen
Harlingen, TX
Platted in 1904 and incorporated in 1910, Harlingen was named for a Dutch town by founder Lon C. Hill, a railroad and business promoter who saw the Rio Grande Valley's future in irrigated farmland. The town organized the Valley's first irrigation and navigation districts and grew into a hub of finance, wholesale trade, and medical care. It became home to state hospitals, the Marine Military Academy, and museums of regional and aviation history.
Santos Lozano Building
Harlingen, TX
Raised in 1915 as Harlingen's first brick building, this commercial block was built by Brownsville craftsman Baltazar Torres for merchant Santos Lozano. Beyond its ground-floor store and post office, its upstairs rooms hosted bilingual school classes and community gatherings. Kept in the Lozano family for generations, it anchored the young town's civic and commercial life.
Planters State Bank
Harlingen, TX
This Harlingen corner began humbly as the site of pioneer Mack Crenshaw's barber shop before the land was deeded to the Planters State Bank in 1917. The bank building rose here, its upper floors leased as offices, and after Planters closed it housed the Valley State Bank from 1924 to 1927. From then until 1965 the Cameron County Irrigation District ran its operations from the building — a fitting tenant in a region whose prosperity depended on watering the Rio Grande Valley.
L. E. Snavely House
Harlingen, TX
When Levi and Lenna Snavely bought this Rio Grande Valley land in 1919 it was dense chaparral of mesquite and ebony. Having come to Harlingen from Oklahoma a decade earlier to grow citrus and market their fruit under the "La Bonita" label, the couple commissioned architect Birger A. Elwing to design this picturesque Norman-style, hollow-tile home, completed in 1928 and named for their brand.