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History · Butte Township

Butte Township dates to 1890, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1900.

1890founded
1on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Butte Township began

When was Butte Township founded?

1890

Butte Township dates its founding to 1890 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 350 in 19002020 census: 411136 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓

What stands out about Butte Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Butte Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 623 in 1940; 286 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Butte Township’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Butte Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Butte Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Butte Township, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 623

Peaked at 623 in 1940; 286 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Butte Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Butte Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Butte Township.

Read it all →

Butte was named from the small hills, or buttes, near the town site.

The Central Interstate Low Level Radioactive Waste Compact and US Ecology purchased land two miles west of Butte in the early 1990s. The land was to become the site of the compact's dump; however, following extensive controversy, the dump was eventually removed from consideration. Nebraska was officially removed from the compact after a series of long court battles that ended in 2004. The state of Nebraska had to pay a settlement and there have been attempts made to sell the compact's land just outside Butte.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Butte Township, 1890 to 1964

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890
    FoundingButte Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 623
  5. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Butte Township, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Butte, Nebraska Thayer Street 32010Butte, Nebraska Thayer Street 3Butte, Nebraska Thayer Street 22010Butte, Nebraska Thayer Street 2Butte, Nebraska Thayer Street 12010Butte, Nebraska Thayer Street 1NEMap-doton-Butte2005NEMap-doton-Butte
On the map

Butte Township on the map, 1964 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Butte Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Butte Township on the 1964 USGS mapButte Township on the 1986 USGS map1964Butte sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Butte Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Butte Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Butte Township
Anoka LutheranButteImmanuelOld SettlersSaints Peter and Paul

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Spencer TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMcCulley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSaratoga TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townColeman TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Butte Township’s history

What year was Butte Township founded?

In 1890, according to Wikidata. Butte Township’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1900 counted 350 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.