As a few of you may know, I am a freelance writer for a number of newspapers. In researching information for one of my columns, I found that Butler County, Alabama has a "sister city" in Freestone County, Texas. I live in Anderson County, which is a neighboring county to Freestone. Butler, Texas, is about 12 miles from my home.
Below is the information I found while researching the Butler Church Bell and the sinking of the steamboat A. S. Ruthven. The Butler Church bell was purchased from the steamboat when it was salvaged. --Mildred Stinson Brown
BUTLER, TEXAS (Freestone County). Butler is on U.S. Highway 84 fourteen miles southeast of Fairfield in southeast Freestone County. In 1852, at a nearby location known as West Point Hill, John T. Gill built a store and warehouse, which he moved a few miles away from the Trinity River the following year. Several families from Butler County, Alabama, including the Mannings, McDaniels, Mayeses, and Mobleys, settled in the area at the same time. In 1854 a church was organized, and the next year a post office by the name of West Point was established. In 1856 the name of the town was officially changed to Butler. By 1858 the community had a doctor, a general store, several businesses, and a Masonic lodge. The post office was closed in 1867 but reestablished in 1868. Butler Academy was authorized by the Texas legislature in 1870. The major revenue of the town at that time was from cotton, which was shipped through Galveston by steamboat on the Trinity River. In 1872 the International-Great Northern Railroad attempted to build a line through the town, but an agreement with landowners could not be reached. The railroad instead went through Oakwood and Palestine. In 1880 the population of Butler was 300, but by 1892 it had decreased to 150, primarily due to the lack of a railroad and the decline in steamboat traffic.
In 1904 the population was estimated at 115, and by 1914 the community had 100 people, a cotton gin, and a general store. The post office closed in August 1916, and mail was sent through Oakwood. In 1936 Butler had three churches, a cemetery, and a number of scattered dwellings. In 1969 four businesses were in operation there, and the school had been consolidated with the Fairfield schools. From 1943 to 1988 the population of Butler was estimated at between sixty and seventy. In 1990 the population was sixty-seven.
Bibliography: Phillip Dale Browne, The Early History of Freestone County to 1865 (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1925). Freestone County Historical Commission, History of Freestone County, Texas (Fairfield, Texas, 1978).
Chris Cravens
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Page updated 20 Sep 2006.
