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History · Butler

Butler’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Butler. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Butler is a small village in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 164 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 180 to 164 (-9%). Half of its homes were built before 1947.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Butler yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Butler’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Butler

See all 1 →
Harold OsbornHarold OsbornNotable
By decade

Butler, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Butler is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Butler has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Montgomery County Courthouse in Hillsboro, 3.3 miles away.

Butler and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Butler. Tap a dot.
Montgomery County CourthouseFreeman-Brewer-Sawyer HouseGeorge Blackman HouseHayward-Hill HouseSamuel Moody Grubbs HouseLitchfield Public Library

Closest to Butler

Montgomery County CourthouseHillsboro · Building3.3miFreeman-Brewer-Sawyer HouseHillsboro · Building3.5miGeorge Blackman HouseHillsboro · Building3.7miHayward-Hill HouseHillsboro · Building3.9miSamuel Moody Grubbs HouseLitchfield · Built 18736.6mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Montgomery County Courthouse’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Butler?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Butler’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Butler Grove📜 Hillsboro📜 Schram City📜 Hillsboro
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Butler, ILView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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