Butler County Ford sold to #1 Cochran
Butler County Ford, an automotive institution in downtown Butler for more than 100 years, is being sold to #1 Cochran.
The dealership will officially change hands after the closing in about six weeks, said Cathy Glasgow, owner of Butler County Ford.
“I just thought the time was right,” Glasgow said. “I’m passing the torch to a great organization.”
She said the dealership’s 32 employees will become employees of Cochran, and the business will continue operating during the transition.
“Business as usual. All the same people. It’s going to be good. We’re still ordering vehicles. We’re still selling vehicles. We’re still repairing vehicles,” Glasgow said. “The closing should be seamless.”
Cochran operates 29 auto dealerships in Western Pennsylvania, including Nissan Cranberry in Zelienople and Subaru Butler County in Renfrew.
Glasgow said Cochran plans to keep the dealership at its current location, but might relocate in the future.
A representative of #1 Cochran declined to comment.
The dealership has been a fixture at the intersection of Main and Wayne streets since 1918, when it was the McIntyre Motor Company. The dealership sold Ford cars, trucks and farm tractors.
In 1923, the dealership was incorporated as the Butler County Motor Company. Walter Cramer, who was a bookkeeper at McIntyre, became the dealer in 1932, when a new Model A cost $426.
The model line up included two-door sedans, coupes, sport coupes, phaetons and Roadsters. They were available in new colors, including Niagara blue, Arabian sand, dawn gray and gunmetal blue. They came with black fenders, and could reach a top speed of 65 miles an hour.
Anthony Johns, Glasgow’s father, joined the company in 1948 and became the dealer in 1956. He remained active in the business for 56 years until he died in 2004. Glasgow has been running the dealership since then.
