Butterfield
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Butterfield High School |
Butterfield was built on land owned by a Scottish Land Company. On September 14, 1883 the sheriff of Perthshire, Scotland, approved a survey of the townsite that had been made for a Mr. George Redman. Originally called Barry City, with high hopes of becoming the county seat, Butterfield was the name finally given to the railroad depot on the Arkansas branch of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad which was built through Barry County about 1881. During the early 1900's Butterfield was an important market town for a wide area. It boasted a number of general stores which stocked all the necessities, and produce houses which bought butter, eggs, milk, poultry, furs, game, etc. from farmers and trappers. The coming of the railroad in the early 1880's gave farmers access to distant markets in St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, etc. |
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Butterfield Mining |
| Butterfield residents had a keen interest in self-government and cultural activities. There were at least 2 churches, the Baptist and Methodist, a literary society, reading circle, singing class, a town band, one lodge and a farmers union. Butterfield had its first organized singing class in 1911. Also in 1911, the prospects for rich lead mines in the vicinity of Butterfield were thought to be excellent and real estate ventures began to heat up. Local citizens followed closely the progress of the mines by making personal visits, usually on foot. Interest in the mines and the expectation that they would bring wealth to little Butterfield reached fever heat in 1911 and 1912. In May 1911 the News reporter wrote, "There is talk of a bank in Butterfield. Butterfield is on the boom!" Unfortunately, the lead mines proved to be much less rich than anticipated and were soon abandoned. Plans for the bank were dropped. However, a Butterfield bank was established in the early 1920's and did business with the merchants and farmers for a few years. One of the most exciting news stories of the early 1920's concerning Butterfield was the daylight robbery of the Butterfield Bank. A local farmer drove into town in his two-horse wagon, stopped his team near the bank, pulled a mask over his face and with a toy pistol proceeded to hold-up the bank. He secured a hand-full of bills, but was caught in a few hours. Butterfield, unlike a few nearby towns, survived its first hundred years. Recently it was chosen as the site for a new Georges chicken processing plant. The new facility, located on busy highway 37, will provide many jobs for Butterfield residents and others in Barry County. |
Ferguson Sorghum Mill at Butterfield |
Cover to book Butterfield Community: Then and Now |
