Butler County, Missouri: History and Information

Butler County, Missouri

Butler County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Poplar Bluff
Year Organized: 1849
Square Miles: 698

Court House:

105 Main Street
County Courthouse
Poplar Bluff, MO 63901-0000

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for William O. Butler, a Kentucky congressman.

Demographics:

History of Butler County

It is a southern border division, organized February 27, 1849, from a part of Wayne County. Later that part west of Cane Creek was added from Ripley County. It is bounded on the east by the St. Francis River, on the west by Ripley County, and on the north by Wayne County. Authorities do not agree as to its name father. William's HISTORY states it was named for Benjamin F. Butler (1795-1858), attorney general during Jackson's second term (1833-1837). Others say the name is for William Orlando Butler (1791-1880). The record of the acts of the General Assembly states, "to be called Butler County, in honor of William O. Butler, of Kentucky." Even if we did not have the report of the Legislature, W.O. Butler would be more likely the one honored because he was a famous son of Kentucky, the state from which many of the earliest settlers of Butler County had come, while B.F. Butler was of New York, far away at that time to the Southeast Missourians. William O. Butler, a staunch Democrat, experienced much hardship in the War of 1812-1814, when he was made captain and served under Andrew Jackson, who praised him very highly. He resigned from the army in 1817 to finish his study of law. Upon the declaration of war against Mexico in 1846, he was appointed by President Polk major-general of the volunteers under General Taylor's command. Butler represented his home county in the legislature in 1817 and 1818 and in 1839 he was sent to Congress where he served two terms. In 1848, he was the Democratic nominee for vice-president. (Eaton, 264; Douglas I.179; Goodspeed, 173; HIST. OF MISSOURI, Conrad 1: 455-456; THE COMMONWEALTH OF MISSOURI 286; Williams, 562; LAWS OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI Fifteenth General Assembly, 25; Dic. of AMER. BIOG., III.356, 371)

Source: Pottenger, Cora Ann. "Place Names Of Five Southern Border Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1945.

Neighboring Counties:

Insert Counties Here

Cities and Towns:

- Fisk

city

Incorporated Area

- Neelyville

city

Incorporated Area

- Poplar Bluff (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Qulin

city

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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Butler County, Missouri

Butler County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Demographics:

History of Butler County

Neighboring Counties:

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

County Resource Guide