This is one of 20 historical caches along the Butler Freeport Community Trail, formerly the Butler Branch of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad.
THIS SERIES OF CACHES ARE ONLY ACCESSIBLE VIA THE BUTLER FREEPORT TRAIL. There is plenty of parking at each trailhead. DO NOT DRIVE ON THE TRAIL; you may hike or bike to each cache.
Mock Funeral
For this cache, please be sure not to trespass, the trail owns 10 acres here, it is a wye. Raised rail bed (follow this) with a creek in the middle, looks like an upside down "Y" the longest running along the trail then back into the woods to a point in the very back. There are houses there, do not disturb, this acreage is all wooded. Once you get back there you will see railroad ties still in place. Train engines used to back up in the woods while the train unloaded in Butler and would pull either in front of or behind the train on the way back to Freeport. Upon the arrival of the Butler Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad connecting Freeport with Butler folks in Butler presented a mock funeral for the Butler Freeport Stage Coach. D.L. Walker, the superintendent of the old stage line, was the leading force behind this affair. He was assisted by many well known citizens of Butler who acted as mourners and pallbearers. The old coach and horses were draped in black. The mourners dressed in black clothes, silk hats and white gloves. The pallbearers were given a place of honor inside the old funeral draped coach. Walker drove the horses and stage coach while the Butler militia escorted the funeral procession around the town. The old stage was placed in a back alley building where it remained for thirty years. ly In 1900 it was revived for a civic parade in Butler held in commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the county. Alexander M. Hays, one of the drivers on the old stage line from Freeport to Butler, attended the centennial celebration. Upon observation of the old stage coach offered the following poem to its memory and the interesting race of “Jehus which long ago furled their whips and dismounted from the box forever,” “It stands in the stable yard, under the eaves, It leans to one side and is covered with leaves It once was the pride of the gay and fair But it has now gone to ruin-that old stage there. It is battered and tattered and it little avails That once it was varnished and glistened with nails The varnish is cracked now, crooked and square Like canvas on top of that old stage there. See! Here is the thorough-brace, and here is the place For the pole for the horses but gone is their race It was cushioned with plush, it was wadded with hair As the birds have discovered in that old stage there. It was built in Troy. Here, under the seat Is a nest full of eggs; ‘tis the favorite retreat Of an old speckled hen, who has hatched, I dare swear Quite an army of chicks in that old stage there I remember when I drove it on the Butler Plank Road The elite of Butler was often its load When we dashed o’er the bridge and on through the square All Butler Town welcomed that old stage there. Oh, the scandal it know; oh, the tales it could tell. Of the you and the old, the rake and the belle! Butler those tales of the times which would raise up your hair Will ne’er be revealed by that old stage there. But here is a thing that remains to be said— It deserves better fate than an old stable shed It should be painted and varnished with the greatest of care, And sent back to Butler that old stage there But as the years roll around I suppose ‘twill stand where Tis a home for the fowls and birds of the air But the mem’ry of the days when I drove it will e’er Still cling; fondly cling, to that old stage there.” The construction of the twenty-one miles of this road under the authority of the act of April 27, 1964 or was it 1864 at a cost of $400,000. The completion of this railroad marked a new growth and improvement in the history of Butler County and the City of Butler. The city and county have realized a significant increase in population as well as other indications of development and success. In 1888 the road was leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for a period of forty years. The abandonment of the Butler Branch was approved by Conrail on September 17, 1987