Thomas Edison/Butchertown House Inc. Records
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1985_061-UA
The papers of the Thomas Edison Butchertown House, Inc., 1973-1983 document the history of an non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of a house in which Thomas Edison Lived during his early life. The papers tell the story of the organization from its founding in 1973 to its dissolving in 1986. The materials contain Correspondence, Board of Director Minutes, Legal Papers, Public Relation Materials, Insurance, Inventory, & Attendance papers, and the Restoration Plans and Specifications of the house itself. There is also guest registers and a scrapbook.
The correspondence of the organization includes letters of inquiry to it, request from teachers for tours, and offers of donation to the organization. There is special correspondence from the Edison Foundation, Younger Womans Club, General Electric and the Kentucky Historical Society. There is a special file concerning donations to the organization from 1974-1982.
The papers also include the Board of Directors Minutes from 1973-1983. The minutes outline many of the activities of the organization, from legal concerns to house attendance. There is also a file relating to the By-Laws of the organization, Internal Revenue Service Exemptions and the tax status of the organization.
The papers also include press releases of the organization, the various publications that the organization distributed, and items about the organization that appeared on television and that were printed in newspapers and magazines. There are various brochures about other miscellaneous Edison organizations and samples of the stationery used by the organization.
The house restoration plans and specification of the Thomas Edison Butchertown house are included in the papers. These materials detail what restoration was done to the house during the organization's lifetime. A scrapbook of Edison House documents and guest registers are a part of the organization's papers.
The copyright interests in the Thomas Edison/Butchertown House Inc. Records have not been transferred to the University of Louisville.
1 linear foot (2 manuscript boxes)
The Thomas Edison Butchertown House, Inc. was incorporated on January 22, 1973 in the state of Kentucky as a non-profit, educational organization. The purpose of the organization was to purchase and restore the house at 729 East Washington Street where Thomas Edison lived in Louisville, Kentucky during 1866-67 when he worked as a telegraph operator for Western Union.
The organization received tax-exemption from the Internal Revenue Service on November 29, 1973. In December of 1972 Butchertown, Inc. had arranged for purchase of the house and transferred title to the house to Thomas Edison Butchertown House, Inc. on March 10, 1974. The house had been purchased for $8500.
In 1976 the organization received a neighborhood incentive grant from the city of Louisville for $10,000 to help renovate the house as an historical attraction and for use as Butchertown, Inc. offices. On January 18, 1978 the organization received grants for $30,000 from the Community Development Cabinet of the City of Louisville and $10,000 from General Electric to help in the restoration of the house and development of historical outreach programs about the house and Thomas Edison's stay in Louisville when he lived in the house and his later visits to the city. The corporation was dissolved in early 1986.
Part of the University of Louisville Archives and Special Collections Repository