By Shannon Butler
If you walk down Academy Street, you will see some lovely houses that represent the Victorian era. Among the people who lived in these homes were the big names of Poughkeepsie business and culture, such as Adriance, Smith, and Hull. Another name comes to mind that might not be as familiar, though it's quite likely that you have played the game he invented; that name is Butts. The family had been in Dutchess County since the mid-18th century and moved to Poughkeepsie when the city was booming with life and opportunity. That is where Mr. Alfred Mosher Butts was born.
At 131 Academy Street sits a lovely home that was designed in 1894 by William J. Beardsley for Mr. Allison Butts. Butts had grown up on the family’s ancestral farm in Stanford, and came to Poughkeepsie in 1874 to teach. He soon earned the position of deputy county clerk, but studied the law while working in that position. By the 1880’s his law practice was flourishing, as he became the expert on law relating to real estate, trusts, and corporations. He decided that he and his wife, Arri, needed a bigger home, one that could accommodate their many sons. Even after their home was completed, the family continued to grow. Their youngest, and perhaps most famous, son was born on April 13, 1899: his name was Alfred Mosher Butts.
Right from the beginning, Alfred proved to be a very intelligent boy. In later years, he recalled that when he and his brothers were little, they had played games that involved anagrams and sometimes made up their own variations. He excelled at school, attending both Clinton Elementary and Poughkeepsie High School (PHS). While at PHS, he became involved in various clubs and regularly ended up on the honor rolls. He was also very theatrical and involved in several plays. When he graduated in 1917, he ventured off to Pratt Institute before studying architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.
Upon his graduation in 1924, with a brand new degree in architecture, Alfred made his way to New York City and the firm of Holden, Egan, and Associates. Times were good until the Great Depression, when Alfred found himself temporarily out of work. Later he claimed, “There wouldn’t be any Scrabble, there wouldn’t be any Butt’s homestead, if I hadn’t been looking around to find some way to get some money during the depression. I thought, ‘I’ll see if I can’t invent a game.’” During the course of the 1930’s, he perfected his creation, which he first called “Criss Cross Words,” and by 1938 he had something he believed he could sell. At first, he made the boards himself. However, he wasn’t selling many boards at all, only a few games here and there.
Since no board game companies expressed any interest in the game, a friend named James Brunot took it over and started a small manufacturing business to make and sell the game, which he renamed Scrabble. By the mid-1950’s, the game took off and Brunot could no longer keep up with demand. The rights to the game were licensed to manufacturers Selchow and Righter, and with that, Alfred Butts found himself with a good deal of money. He was able to purchase his family’s old homestead in Stanford, which included about 140 acres of farmland. He continued his work in architecture nonetheless, including designing the original Stanford Free Library in 1969, of which he was one of the founders. He died in 1993, just shy of his 94th birthday.
References:
Poughkeepsie Eagle News - June 17, 1909, Nov 19, 1915, Jan 28 1916, Nov 1 1916, Jan 27, 1917, Apr 18, 1922
Poughkeepsie Journal - March 27, 1955, Sep 17, 1955, Nov 5, 1969, Apr 8, 1993
PHOIS Yearbook, 1917
Images:
PHOIS-1917 - Yearbook photo showing a young Alfred M. Butts from Poughkeepsie High School, 1917
131 Academy - Modern day view of 131 Academy Street, the Butts Family home in Poughkeepsie.
AlfredButts - Photo of Alfred Butts holding his game Scrabble.