Butler

Formed February 27, 1849 (97^th county)

Butler County (42,128), Poplar Bluff (16,228)

A Classical Revival masonry building, on a square at Main, Pine, 2^nd, and Vine Streets, was built in 1927.  The building sits on United States Highway 60 Business.  N. S. Spencer and Sons are the building designers.  A green metal roof is barely visual on the top.  Memorial pillars are on the grounds.  A Justice Center supplements the courthouse across the street.  There were also 1850 and 1887 courthouses.  The county was established on February 27, 1849 from Wayne County as the 97^th county with Poplar Bluff as the only county seat.  Kentucky Congressman William O. Butler is the namesake of county.  He is also the namesake of the county seat of Bates County.  The county seat is a geographical name for a bluff over Black Creek. 

Butler County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  One Circuit Court Judge serves Butler and Ripley counties and Two County Court Judges and a court clerk serve Butler County (judicial.) The county is in southeast Missouri on the border with Arkansas.  Saint Louis, Missouri is north and Memphis, Tennessee is southeast of the county.  The county center is 4.9 miles South of Poplar Bluff.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wayne, Stoddard, and Dunklin counties and Arkansas and Ripley and Carter counties. 

The area of the county is 698 square miles.  It is 29 out of 115 in the state.  It ranks 27 out of 115 in population in the state.  It has a density of 60.4 persons per square mile making it 32 out of 115 in the state.  Butler County has 41.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 60 crosses the county east to west from Stoddard County to Carter County.  United States Highway 67 travels north to south from Wayne County to Arkansas.  United States Highway 160 originates and heads west into Ripley County.  The county looks like a reverse diagonal.  Poplar Bluff is located near the center of the county.  Poplar Bluff is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 38.5% of the county population.  This county is in the Poplar Bluff Micropolitan Statistical Area.

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