BARTLETT HOUSE
- Program
- Subject
- Location
- Lat/Long
- Grant Recipient
-
NYS Historic
-
House, People
- 306 Laurens St, Olean, NY 14760, USA
- 42.079544, -78.432772
-
City of Olean
BARTLETT HOUSE
Inscription
BARTLETT HOUSEBUILT 1881. HOME OF FRANK &
FANNIE BARTLETT, CIVIC LEADERS
AND PHILANTHROPISTS. SERVED
CO. HEALTH DEPT 1930-1989.
BECAME MUSEUM 1990.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2020
Built in 1881, the Bartlett House, located at 302 Laurens Street, was the former home of railroad investor and president of the Exchange National Bank Frank Bartlett and his wife Fannie. Prosperous and immensely wealthy, the Bartletts were philanthropists and active supporters of their community. On December 6, 1922 Frank Bartlett died. His death was noted in Olean Evening Herald:
In his death Olean has lost one of its most powerful men, both as a citizen and as a financier. His various activities during his life indicated that he found happiness in providing pleasure for others.
Five years later, in 1927, Fannie also passed away, leaving their only child, Nancy Bartlett Laughlin the sole surviving heir to their estate and family home. To honor of the legacy of her parents, Nancy carried on with philanthropic work in their community. In 1929 she donated a sizeable sum to Alfred University for the construction of a new dormitory bearing the name of her father. Around the same time Nancy gifted the Bartlett House to the City of Olean to establish the Bartlett Memorial Community Center. A November 6, 1930 edition of the Olean Evening Times details:
The former Bartlett residence, the gift of Nancy Bartlett Laughlin, in memory of her mother Mrs. Fannie E. Bartlett, is ideally adapted with a few minor alterations, to the use to which it has been put.
The article continues:
It now houses the complete county and city health and welfare departments including officers, diagnostic clinics, supply rooms, consulting rooms of various welfare departments in addition to the Boy Scout and Camp Fire Girl office.
The Bartlett Memorial Community Center served as the headquarters for the Cattaraugus County Health Department from 1930 until 1989. As of 2020, the Bartlett House serves the City of Olean as a museum, research facility and community center.
