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Butler, Missouri

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1981. It stands in Mount Pleasant Township. It lies in ZIP code area 64730. It stands on Root Branch. The Survey maps it on the Butler quadrangle. 4,220 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 863 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Butler within Bates County

On record in Butler

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Butler grew from 4,219 to 4,220 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20104,219
20204,220+1 (+0%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 15 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

15 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Butler between 1992 and 2020, burning about 71 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning7
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Arson/incendiarism2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 July 2003Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMissouri State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
17 June 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation210518-00703-06172020-1935
10 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation200514-00703-05102020-1230
9 March 2015Debris and open burning3.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservation121778-00703-03092015-1530
7 March 2015Debris and open burning2.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservation121775-00703-03072015-1534
22 March 2015Debris and open burning8.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservation121788-00703-03222015-1507
19 March 1994Arson/incendiarism4.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
2 October 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined9.3 acresMissouri Department of Conservation230824-00703-10022020-1500

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Bates County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 16 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of Butler: 13 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
B + B Rock & Lime QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Bates Co #1 Butler QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Bates County Rock Phosphate QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Batesco #1 PlantStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Butler City QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown - Ls.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown - Ls.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown - Ls.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown - Ls.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown - Ls.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Bates County

Storms near this place

60 of 64 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Butler in 64 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 30 hail, 23 thunderstorm wind, 7 flash flood, 2 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 1994Thunderstorm WindButler$500,000Out buildings were knocked down and large trees blown down.
March 2006HailButler$25,000no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindButler$10,000Mobile home blown over and several barns damaged. trees and power lines down.
March 2006Tornado (F2)Butler$5,000Tornado touched down at 1952 CST just on the north side of Butler...and then proceeded northeast over rural country...before crossing over into Cass county 2 miles north of Ballard at 2005 CST. Damage was limited to trees...power lines...and one barn.
May 2003HailButler$5,000no account filed
June 2009LightningButler$2,000Lightning caused damage to a house.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindButler-Downed power lines along Highway 52 southeast of Butler.
April 2024Tornado (EF1)Butler-This tornado began just east of Route YY and just south of State Highway 52 southeast of Butler in Bates County, where minor tree damage was observed. The tornado strengthened as it moved east-northeast toward SH 52, snapping or uprooting several trees at a residence just south of the highway. The fallen trees were in a variety of directions, confirming the presence of a tornado. The tornado continued along the highway east past Route N, where power poles were damaged and additional minor tree damage was observed. The last signs of damage were just east of Route N, where small limbs were downed at a residence.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindButler-Social media photo of tree damage in Butler.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindButler-Public reported several tree limbs down.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindButler-In a relatively isolated incident an otherwise sub-severe thunderstorm produced a significant downburst in the city of Butler. The damage was pretty confined to a small area, but that area appeared to be hit hard, especially as a TV antenna came down at an old abandoned station.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindButler-This report was received via Facebook. A tree was snapped at the base and blew onto a nearby house.
July 2017FloodButler-Missouri HWY 52 was closed in both directions near Butler.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindButler-Half of a roof was blown off of a lumber yard building onto the nearby roadway.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindButler-A trained spotter near Butler reported a measured 61 mph wind gust.
March 2015HailButler-Dime to quarter size hail was reported but it was mostly quarter size.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindButler-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated up to 60 mph, caused 6 to 12 inch diameter trees to be knocked down.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindButler-Tree branches up to 4 inches in diameter was blown down. Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 60 mph.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindButler-Trees were reported down with power outages also reported.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindButler-Large trees were reported uprooted, with several tree limbs up to 8 inches in diameter broken off.
June 2007Flash FloodButler-Heavy rains caused flooding with a rooftop water rescue.
June 2007Flash FloodButler-High water rescue was reported 2 miles south of Highway 52. Nearly 6 feet of water was over gravel road.
June 2007Flash FloodButler-Numerous roads were closed in Butler due to the heavy rains.
June 2007Flash FloodButler-Heavy rains closed 52 Highway east of Highway 71, due to high water.
May 2007Flash FloodButler-Numerous roads in town impassable due to high water.
January 2005Flash FloodButler-South Main Street under water due to heavy rains.
June 2005Flash FloodButler-H Highway and Highway 52 closed due to high water.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindButler-10 inch tree limbs down.
May 2000HailButler-Dime to golfball-size hail fell in the Butler area for more than 10 minutes.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindButler-A large maple tree was blown down.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindButler-A transformer was destroyed and trees were downed.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindButler-The Bates County Sheriff's Office reported a 60 MPH wind gust during a severe thunderstorm in Butler.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindButler-Severe thunderstorm winds were observed at 75 MPH in Butler. Several large trees were knocked down with the strong winds. In Rich Hill the thunderstorm winds knocked down power lines. The same severe thunderstorm produced dime-size hail as reported by the Rich Hill Police Department.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindButler-Severe thunderstorms produced 60 mph wind gusts south of Butler.
June 2022HailButler-no account filed
August 2019HailButler-no account filed
March 2017HailButler-no account filed
April 2015HailButler-no account filed
April 2014HailButler-no account filed
April 2014HailButler-no account filed
May 2011HailButler-no account filed
June 2009HailButler-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindButler-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindButler-no account filed
October 2007Thunderstorm WindButler-no account filed
March 2006HailButler-no account filed
March 2006HailButler-no account filed
March 2005HailButler-no account filed
April 2005HailButler-no account filed
June 2005HailButler-no account filed
March 2003HailButler-no account filed
March 2003HailButler-no account filed
May 2003HailButler-no account filed
May 2003HailButler-no account filed
May 2003HailButler-no account filed
July 2003HailButler-no account filed
July 2003HailButler-no account filed
April 2001HailButler-no account filed
October 2001HailButler-no account filed
May 2000HailButler-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Bates County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Monteith Junction3.6 miles14
Passaic4.5 miles15
Peru (historical)5.6 miles14
Cornland6.3 miles17
Athol6.5 miles17
Nyhart6.6 miles17
Virginia8.8 miles14
Adrian9.6 miles16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ButlerAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q955151The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 715118. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.