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History · Butler Township

Butler Township dates to 1887, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1910.

1887founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Butler Township began

When was Butler Township founded?

1887

Butler Township dates its founding to 1887 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 162 in 19102020 census: 307139 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1880.The full story ↓

What stands out about Butler 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 Butler Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1986. Watch Butler Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Butler Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Butler Township on the map, 1899 to 1986

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

Butler Township on the 1899 USGS mapButler Township on the 1957 USGS mapButler Township on the 1986 USGS map1899Mitchell sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Butler Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Butler Township.

Read it all →

Butler was laid out in 1887, and named in honor of Harrison Butler, the original owner of the site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Butler Township, 1880 to 1899

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Dewitt post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Dewitt post office closes
  4. 1887
    FoundingButler Township is established
  5. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Butler Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-Butler2004SDMap-doton-Butler
People over time

Butler Township, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 184

Between 4 and 184 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Dewitt, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Upland Colony
Gone or out of use
DeWittlocale
1cemetery inside Butler Township
Butler

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Ravenna TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPerry TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLetcher TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Butler Township’s history

What year was Butler Township founded?

In 1887, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Butler Township’s post office opened in 1880, and the census of 1910 counted 162 people here.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.