Butler, Missouri
| Butler, Missouri | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Nickname(s): The Electric City | |
 Location within Bates County and Missouri |
|
| Coordinates: 38°15′31″N 94°20′6″W / 38.25861°N 94.33500°WCoordinates: 38°15′31″N 94°20′6″W / 38.25861°N 94.33500°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| County | Bates |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.08 sq mi (10.57 km2) |
| • Land | 4.07 sq mi (10.54 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2) |
| Elevation | 863 ft (263 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 4,219 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 4,157 |
| • Density | 1,000/sq mi (400/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 64730 |
| Area code(s) | 660 |
| FIPS code | 29-10054 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0715118 |
| Website | City Website |
Butler is a city in Bates County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,219 at the 2010 census. The county seat of Bates County, the city is named for William Orlando Butler, a noted American military and political figure of the early and mid-19th century. It is located approximately fifty miles south of Kansas City, Missouri on U.S. Route 71-Interstate 49.
When originally laid out in April 1852, Butler was a short distance from its later and current location, with John C. Kennett being recognized as the first settler to build a home. The plat for Butler was filed in August, 1853 and consisted of five lots on fifty-five acres of donated land. The first county seat for Bates County was Papinville.
After a large portion of the county was split off to form Vernon County in 1855, Papinville was no longer near the geographic center, and Butler was selected in 1856 as the county seat. County officials shortly thereafter selected the contracting firm of Fitzpatrick & Hurt to construct a fifty-by-fifty foot brick courthouse at a cost of $5,000. This building served the county until being gutted by fire in 1861. The year 1856 also saw the establishment of Butler's first general mercantile store was established in 1856, with several others following in the years prior to the Civil War's outbreak in 1861.
During the Civil War western Missouri was engulfed in insurgent Confederate actions and raids by Union forces. Personal conflicts were also played out in the war's violence. Early in the conflict a major fire destroyed not only the Bates County courthouse but nearly all of the surrounding square of businesses and the town's first church. The arson fire was the handiwork of a squad of volunteer Kansas cavalry acting on orders of Jayhawker Colonel James Montgomery. A company of pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard cavalry under Sidney D. Jackman arrived too late to stop the arson, but they pursued the Kansans back across the border, killing and wounding several. During much of the spring and summer of 1862, the town was occupied by Union Colonel Fitz Henry Warren and elements of the 1st Regiment Iowa Volunteer Cavalry. Arriving in April, they stayed until mid-August when they left for Clinton, Missouri, followed closely by Confederate troops under Colonel Jackman and General Vard Cockrell. The opposing groups would finally meet a few days later at the Battle of Lone Jack in Jackson county.
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Wikipedia