Butler, Freestone County, Texas

Last updated

Butler is a historic, unincorporated community in Freestone County, Texas, United States. The community is southeast of Fairfield and approximately 14 miles outside city limits on U.S. Route 84.

Contents

Demographics

The community has a total population of approximately 1,475.

Population in July 2007: Males: 733 (49.7%), Females: 742 (50.3%)

Racial Group Representation:

The average household size is 2.4 people and roughly 57% of the community is a family household, which is well below the state average. Parts of the community are fairly poor with 15% of residents earning income below the poverty level.

Schools

Butler is served by the Fairfield Independent School District which includes Fairfield Elementary school, Fairfield Intermediate school, and Fairfield High School. [1]

Higher education options include Trinity Valley Community College (38 miles), Navarro College (42 miles), UT Tyler (63 miles), Texas State Technical College (67 miles), Tyler Junior College (69 miles), Sam Houston State University (70 miles), and Texas A&M (73 miles).

Landmarks

The nearest hospitals are in Fairfield, TX and Palestine, TX 14 miles and 21 miles away respectively.

Notable sites in Butler include its many churches, historic cemeteries, lakes and reservoirs, as well as the numerous springs and creeks.

History

In the early 1850s, several prominent families from Butler County, Alabama, settled in area known a West Point Hill. Over time the settlement grew with the addition of a church in 1854 and the establishment of a post office in 1856. By 1858 the community had a doctor, a general store, several businesses, and a Masonic lodge. 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. [2] In 1916, the post office was closed and all mail was sent through the office in Oakwood. By 1969, all schools had been consolidated in Fairfield.

Sacred Harp composer Sarah Lancaster lived in Butler for some time with her family. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freestone County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Freestone County is a county in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,435. Its county seat is Fairfield. The county was created in 1850 and organized the next year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anderson County, Texas</span> County in Texas, United States

Anderson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. Located within East Texas, its county seat is Palestine. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of Anderson County was 57,922. Anderson County comprises the Palestine micropolitan statistical area. Anderson County was organized in 1846, and was named after Kenneth Lewis Anderson (1805-1845), the last vice president of the Republic of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elkhart, Texas</span> Town in Texas, United States

Elkhart is a town the U.S. state of Texas, in Anderson County. Named for a friendly Native American who assisted the early settlers of the area, Elkhart's population was 1,287 at the 2020 U.S. census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestine, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Palestine is a city in and the seat of Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named after Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that town. It is also contested that Micham Main named Palestine after his hometown, also Palestine, Illinois, when he and his family arrived here along with the Parker family and several others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the U.S. census. Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas and is a principal city in the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan area, which as of the 2020 Census had a population of 475,367. Located off Interstate 35, Temple is 65 miles north of Austin, 34 miles south of Waco and 27 miles east of Killeen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Liverpool is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, named after the city of Liverpool in England. It is located along the Union Pacific Railroad and County Road 171, northeast of Angleton and south of Alvin. The population was 475 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulshear, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Fulshear is a city in northwestern Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, and is located on the western edge of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The population was 16,856 as of the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairfield, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Fairfield is a city and county seat of Freestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,850 at the 2020 census, down from 3,094 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1851.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teague, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Teague is a city in Freestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,384 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crosby, Texas</span> Census-designated place in Texas, United States

Crosby is a census-designated place in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,417 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheldon, Texas</span> Unincorporated Community and Census-designated place in Texas, United States

Sheldon is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in northeastern Harris County, Texas, United States, located completely inside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The Sheldon area is located along Beltway 8 and US Highway 90, approximately twelve miles (19 km) northeast of Downtown Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athens, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Athens is a city and the county seat of Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 12,857. The city has called itself the "Black-Eyed Pea Capital of the World." Athens was selected as one of the first "Certified Retirement Communities" in Texas. Athens was incorporated in 1856 and was named after Athens, the capital of Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coffee City, Texas</span> Town in Texas, United States

Coffee City is a small town in southeastern Henderson County, Texas, United States. The population was 249 at the 2020 census, down from 278 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the 38th most populous city in Texas and 289th in the United States. It is the principal city of the Tyler metropolitan statistical area, which is the 198th most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. and 16th in Texas after Waco and the College Station–Bryan areas, with a population of 233,479 in 2020. The city is named for John Tyler, the tenth President of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bullard, Texas</span> Town in Texas, United States

Bullard is a small town in Smith and Cherokee counties in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Texas. U.S. Route 69 and Farm-to-Market Roads 2137, 2493, and 344 intersect here, about 15 miles (24 km) south of the larger city of Tyler. Its population was 3,318 at the 2020 census, up from 2,463 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakwood, Texas</span> Town in Texas, United States

Oakwood is a town in Leon and Freestone counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 389 at the 2020 census. It was founded in 1872 as a stop on the International Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longview, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Longview is a city in, and county seat of, Gregg County, Texas, United States. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. highways 80 and 259 converge just north of the Sabine River. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 81,638. Longview is the principal city of the Longview metropolitan statistical area, comprising Gregg, Upshur, and Rusk counties. The population of the metropolitan area as of 2021 census estimates was 287,858.

Fairfield Independent School District is an American school district in Texas with approximately 1,700 students. Its president is Eric Chavers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brashear, Texas</span> Unincorporated community in Texas, United States

Brashear is an unincorporated community located on Interstate Highway 30 and Farm to Market Road 2653 in west central Hopkins County, Texas, United States. Brashear has a post office, church, farm buildings, a radio building, and other buildings.

Halls Bluff or Hall's Bluff is a ghost town in Houston County, Texas, United States.

References

  1. "Butler, TX Community Profile" . Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  2. Cravens, Chris. "BUTLER, TX (FREESTONE COUNTY)". Handbook of Texas Online.
  3. David Warren Steel; Richard H. Hulan (2010). The Makers of the Sacred Harp. University of Illinois Press. pp. 131–. ISBN   978-0-252-07760-9.

31°39′49″N95°55′25″W / 31.6637°N 95.9235°W / 31.6637; -95.9235