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Bradsby on St. Johns and Drums, 1893
The first merchant in this township was Henry B. Yost, in 1832, on the place now owned by D. W. Jenkins, Sr. Mr. Yost was also the pioneer postmaster. The mails were received once a week, and the name of the office was East Sugarloaf. This was previous to the formation of the township of Butler.
George Hughes' sawmill, above Straw's, was built in 1833, and is still standing. The house where William B. Doud lives, owned by Mr. Straw, was built in 1812. The first weavers here were Michael Klouse, Elias Balliett and Jacob Schauber. They all lived a little southwest of Hughesville. The oldest graveyard in this township is the one in the corner of the lot opposite the Methodist Episcopal church.
At St. John's (Hughesville), called the latter name for George Hughes, Henry Benner built his sawmill in 1836, and in 1853 George Hughes built a gristmill, and in the spring of the year commenced to turn out a superior article of flour. It was for a long time known by no other name than Hughesville, situated about three miles north of Drums. Sheide & Werner opened soon after the first store in the place, and Henry Bermer a blacksmith shop; in 1868 J. W. Woodring opened a boot and shoe shop; in 1870 Stephen Krehns opened his tavern. The Germans built their St. John's church here, and when it came to naming a post office, necessity compelled a change of the name from Hughesville, and so it became St. John's—quite a little trading point for the surrounding farmers. The St. John's church was organized in December, 1799.
Drums is the principal village in Butler township. It is in the heart of a rich agricultural section and is on the old State road leading from Hazleton to Wilkes- Barre, about six miles from the former, its natural trading point, and between Big and Little Nescopeck.
Honey Hole is the name of a hamlet in the east part of the township on the Nescopeck, where is quite a pond near the junction of the forks of the creek. Quite a collection of houses here and a sawmill that was one of the mills of A. Pardee & Co. The road from Upper Lehigh passes northwest through Hell Kitchen on to Honey Hole, and from there to St. Johns (Hughesville).
-- From: Bradsby, H. C., editor. History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Selections. Chicago, S. B. Nelson & Co., 1893.