Butler

History

When laid out in April 1852, Butler was a short distance from its modern location, with John C. Kennett being recognized as the first settler to build a home. 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. On August 25, 1863 Union Army General Thomas Ewing issued his controversial Order No. 11, requiring evacuation of all rural residents from the county. A field near the Butler Memorial Airport was the site of a skydiving plane crash on June 14, 2026.

Geography

The city is on US Route 71 and Missouri Route 52. Rich Hill is ten miles south and Adrian is 8.5 miles north. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  81
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  53
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  49
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  43
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  42
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  36
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  34
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  33

Largest nearby schools

• BUTLER HIGH
  High · BUTLER · 504 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• BUTLER ELEM.
  Elementary · BUTLER · 420 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• ADRIAN SR. HIGH
  High · ADRIAN · 417 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• ADRIAN ELEM.
  Elementary · ADRIAN · 313 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• BUTLER EARLY CHILDHOOD
  Other · BUTLER · 73 students · 18.3:1 ratio