Butler County, KS

Description

Butler County, Kansas' largest, is mostly rolling grass-covered hills with broad river valleys winding through them. Elevations range from 1625 feet on the east Flint Hills escarpment down to 1148 feet in the Walnut River valley.

Petroleum production and refining is still the major factor in the county's economy. Farming and ranching are also important, and the state correctional facility and light industry are growing segments.

History

Organized in 1855. County seat Eldorado. For Andrew P. Butler, who was United States Senator from South Carolina, from 1846 to 1857.

Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)

Butler County is named for Sen. Andrew Pickens Butler (1796-1857) of South Carolina. Senator Butler was an ardent proslavery advocate although he had voted for the Kansas-Nebraska Act, perhaps thinking like many others that Kansas would become a slave state and Nebraska a free state.

Butler County was one of the 33 original counties created by the "Bogus Legislature" composed of pro-slavery Missourians, border state ruffians and the fraudulently elected. A later Free State legislature allowed the name to remain unchanged. One account states that they thought Butler County was named after Massachusetts politician and later Union Army General, Ben Butler.

Since the early days, the regional economy had been focused on farming and ranching. This would all change when, in the fall of 1915, a cable tool drilling rig owned by Wichita Natural Gas began to drill an oil well on the John Stapleton farm north of town. Day after day the tools stomped their way into the solid earth until at a depth of 670 feet oil was discovered. Word spread like a wind-whipped prairie fire and the black gold rush was on.

Butler's economy changed almost overnight. Lease prices for land skyrocketed as men sought riches from deep within the earth. New shops and businesses were built to meet the demands of thousands of incoming workers.

The company owned towns of Oil Hill, Midian, Gordon, Browntown and others prospered. Oil Hill and El Dorado grew and by 1918 their population totaled almost 20,000. In a single year, more than 28 million barrels of crude oil were produced.
- information supplied by the Butler County Historical Society

William G. Cutler's History of Kansas, first published in 1883, tells about early Butler County.

The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of Augusta, Benton, Douglass, El Dorado, Leon, Oil Hill, & Towanda,

The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Butler County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Butler County

                           2000
    Town                Population  ZIP         Year  Elevation
    =================   ==========  =========   ====  =========
    Aikman                                              1470
    Andover                  6,698  67002               1350
    Augusta                  8,423  67010       1871    1260
    Beaumont                        67012               1605
    Benton                     827  67017               1375
    Bloomington                                         1317
    Bois d' Arc                                         1222
    Brainerd                                            1380
    Cassoday                   130  66842               1470
    Chelsea                                             1330
    De Graff                                            1410
    Douglass                 1,813  67039               1205
    East El Dorado                                      1290
    El Dorado               12,057  67042       1857    1344
    Elbing                     218  67041               1440
    Gordon                                              1220
    Haverhill                                           1327
    Hopkins                                             1451
    Keighley                                            1525
    Lakeview Heights                                    1310
    Latham                     164  67072               1470
    Leon                       645  67074               1350
    Lorena                                              1330
    Mecca Acres                                         1310
    Midway                                              1323
    Pickrell Corner                                     1352
    Pontiac                                             1427
    Potwin                     457  67123               1340
    Prospect                                            1380
    Rosalia                         67132               1520
    Rose Hill                3,432  67133               1240
    Salter                                              1275
    Smileyberg                                          1325
    Summit                                              1602
    Sunset Acres                                        1355
    Towanda                  1,338  67144               1300
    Vanora                                              1267
    Whitewater                 653  67154               1370
    Wingate                                             1498

Census Bureau Profile & Map

Special Places in Butler County

The Praririe Rose Chuckwagon offers entertainment, fun and great food. It's just off Hwy K-254 near Benton.
El Dorado Lake & State Park offers 8,000 acres of water and over 600 campsites. The Teter Nature Trail is a 1½ mile hike winding through undisturbed wilderness.
Beaumont still has its 1885 wooden water tower beside the railroad tracks. It was used to refill the water tanks on steam locomotives. Now the town celebrates with their Frisco Water Tower Festival in June.
The old hotel at Beaumont is open again serving good meals to customers, many of whom fly in and park their planes on the street.
Augusta still uses its 1935 downtown theater and it is slowly being restored to its former glory.
The romanesque 1909 Butler County courthouse is open for self-guided tours on workdays.
The cafe in Cassoday, "The Prairie Chicken Capital of the World", has hitching posts because some of the customers are working cowboys who ride into town for lunch.
The 1918 Missouri-Pacific station at 3rd & Main in downtown El Dorado is not open, but its exterior is worth seeing.

Libraries

Andover Public Library (316) 733-4599
937 N. Andover Road, Andover, KS 67002
Augusta Public Library (316) 775-2681
1609 State Street, Augusta, KS 67010
Douglass Public Library (316) 746-2200
319 S. Forrest / Box 188, Douglass, KS 67039
Bradford Memorial Library (316) 321-3363
611 S Washington Street, El Dorado, KS 67042-2898
Leon Public Library (316) 745-3438
111 S. Main / P. O. Box 57, Leon, KS 67074-0057
Potwin Public Library (620) 752-3421
126 N. Randall, Potwin, KS 67123-0189
Towanda Public Library (316) 536-2464
620 Highland, Towanda, KS 67144
Whitewater Memorial Library (316) 799-2471
118 E Topeka / Box 471, Whitewater, KS 67154

Museums

Augusta Historical Museum (316) 775-5655
303 State St., Augusta, KS 67010
Cassoday Historical Museum (620) 735-7286 - Old Depot
Washington & Beaumont, Cassoday, KS 66842
Coutts Memorial Museum of Art (316) 321-1212
110 N. Main, El Dorado, KS 67042
Douglass Historical Museum (316) 746-2319
318 S. Forest, Douglass, KS 67039
Erman B. White Gallery of Art (316) 321-2222 - Open during the school year
On the campus of Butler County Community College
Hopalong Cassidy Cowboy Museum 316-778-2121
15231 SW Parallel Rd., Benton, KS 67017
Located in the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper complex.
Butler County Historical Center - (316) 321-9333
Home of the Kansas Oil Museum
383 East Central, El Dorado, KS 67042
Museum of the American Fan Collectors Association (316) 733-0035
Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc.
415 E. 13th St., Andover KS 67002
Open weekdays, 8:30am-5pm, displaying about 350 fans dating from 1886.
The Ellet School (620) 965-3121 - Open by appointment
Latham Historical Society, Latham, KS
The Museum in Towanda (316) 536-2500
3d and Main, Towanda, KS 67144

Butler County School Systems

USD 205 Bluestem (316) 742-3261 Leon, Haverhill
USD 206 Remington-Whitewater (316) 799-2115 Potwin, Whitewater
USD 375 Circle (316) 541-2577 Benton, Towanda
USD 385 Andover (316) 733-5017 Andover
USD 394 Rose Hill Public Schools (316) 776-3300 Rose Hill
USD 396 Douglass Public Schools (316) 747-3300 Douglass
USD 402 Augusta (316) 775-5484 Augusta
USD 490 El Dorado (316) 321-2780 El Dorado
USD 492 Flinthills (620) 476-2215 Rosalia, Cassoday

Colleges & Universities

Butler County Community College, El Dorado (316) 321-2222

Hospitals

Susan B. Allen Hospital (316) 321-3300
720 W. Central, El Dorado, KS

Newspapers

Andover Journal Advocate (316) 733-2002
525 N. Andover Rd, Andover, KS 67002
Augusta Daily Gazette (316) 775-2218
204 E. Fifth, Augusta, KS 67010
El Dorado Times (316) 321-1120
114 N. Vine, El Dorado, KS 67042
Rose Hill Reporter (316) 776-0097
122 N. Rose Hill Rd., Rose Hill, KS 67133

More Data About Butler County

Health Data

KDHE's Butler County Health Profile

Genealogy

Butler County KSGenWeb

Butler County Offices

Butler County (316) 322-4232
205 W. Central Ave., El Dorado, KS 67042
Extension Service (316) 321-9660 or 1-800-894-1131
206 N. Griffith, El Dorado, KS 67042

For more about Butler County contact:

Augusta Chamber of Commerce (316) 775^_6339
Sixth & School, Augusta, KS
Butler County Economic Development (316) 322^_4242
121 S. Gordy, El Dorado, KS 67042
Douglass Chamber of Commerce (316) 746^_3135
223 E. 3rd, Douglass, KS 67039
El Dorado Chamber of Commerce (316) 321^_3150
201 E. Central, El Dorado, KS
Rose Hill Chamber of Commerce (316) 776^_0900
104 N. Rose Hill Rd, Rose Hill, KS 67133