Freestone County, Texas Towns West Point In 1852, at a location nearby modern Butler was known as West Point Hill where John T. Gill built a store and warehouse, which he moved a few miles away from the Trinity River the following year. Steamboats and flat boats going up and down the Trinity River stopped at the West Point docks which lay just below the settlement. According to old mileage charts, it was 558 miles upriver to the docks at Pine Bluff. *1* Settlers arrived in earnest about 1853 such as 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 1855, the well digger Mr. Wilson was buried alive working on Mr. Gill's well. On Sept. 17, 1856, J. A. Formwalt ran an advertisement in the Trinity Advocate as a receiving, forwarding and commission merchant at West Point. =============================================================== Butler Butler is on U.S. Highway 84 fourteen miles southeast of Fairfield in southeast Freestone County. In May 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. In Oct. 1864, two soldier's homes were established at Butler. One soldier home was owned by H. Manning, Esq., and the other by Mr. Wm. M. McDaniel. Both soldier's homes were on the Palestine road. 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. A Farmer's Alliance is started with 24 members there at the end of March 1886. At that time, they do not have a doctor after Dr. J. M. Colley moved to Palestine. The delegates to the 1886 Democracy of Freestone County convention held at the courthouse in Fairfield were J. H. Jones, J. S. Ivy, T. P. Whitt and G. W. Powell. The 1895 Rand McNally atlas shows Butler with 115 people and a post office, but no express office or railroad. Williams S. Wood was the postmaster from about 1903 to 1905. *2* 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. =============================================================== Known people in Butler across the years were: Allen, G. R. Bizell, J. N. Bohnannon, Charlie Bohnannon, Jessie Bryan, John (farmer) Bryan, J. K. (farmer) Campbell, W. O. (flour mill and gin) Chambers, H. (policeman) Colley, Dr. J. M. (moved to Palestine) Copehart, C. G. (general store) Cornwell, C. (postmaster abt 1896) Cornwell, J. A. (blacksmith) Costen, Rosa (farmer) Crawford, G. Rev. (Baptist Church) Davis, H. B. Donner, J. F. (Carpenter) Duncan, ? (General Store) Durhane, ? (flour mill and gin) Eades, W. G. Edwards, Akin Edwards, Benjamin Franklin Edwards, Clara Edwards, Elizabeth Smith Edwards, Fannie Edwards, Jim (moved to Waco area) Edwards, Lena Edwards, W. L. Jr. (general store then blacksmith) Edwards, W. L. Sr. (general store) Eiland, ? Evans, Clabe Evans, Mrs. Lou Evans, J. B. Evans, Mrs. J. B. (moved from Butler in 1887) Evans, J. R. Evans, Johnnie Evans, Ollie Evans, W. H. Ferguson, T. J. (farmer) Franklin, Coburn Franklin, Earnest Franklin, Etta Franklin, Eugene (moved to Kansas) Franklin, Frances Franklin, John Coolly Franklin, Johnny May Franklin, Les Franklin, N. B. Franklin, Palem Franklin, William S. (postmaster 1905-?) Gafford, M. Harrington, J. H. Hatcher, R. J. (lawyer) Haydon, J. N. Hobbs, Dr. James Huie, Mrs. A. E. Ivy, James S. (farmer) Ivy, John Ivy, L. C. Jenkins, J. A. Johnson, J. D. Jones, J. H. Killough, Maldon Killough, Nellie Killough, S. M. Koonce, ? (General store) Lane, C. J. Lane, W. C. (postmaster abt 1884) Long, ? (ran a family sawmill) Love, P. H. Lyns, W. T. (general store) Manning, C. T. Manning, ? (flour mill and gin) Manning, Hillary Mayes, Joe Mayes, J. C. Mayes, T. G. Mobley, Anniebell Mobley, Carrie Mobley, J. R. Mobley, Mary Mobley, O'Neal Mobley, Raymond Murdock, Eva Newbitt, M. A. Nixon, Anthony O'Neals, Tobe O'Neals, W. A. Perry, Dr. William Powell, G. W. Rawls, Anderson Rawls, J. A. (physician) Richardson, Rev. J. (Baptist church) Roberts, S. A. (physician) Robertson, ? Shelton, George E. (general store) Slaughter, Henry Small, Lula Stewart, Worth Streety, J. B. Streety, W. C. Treywicks, ? (ran a general store) Waldrom, Joe Whitt, Colonel T. P. Wood, Lee Wood, Williams S. (postmaster, starting abt 1903 to 1905) Woods, Rev. J. W. (Baptist church) ======================================================== PRIMARY SOURCES: ====================================================== Texas State Gazette - March 14, 1857 edition; Page: 1 Our Lands and Stock The Editor of the Pioneer, has been visiting that portion of Freestone county in the vicinity of Butler. The editor says: "Suffice it to say, that that portion of our county offers the greatest inducements to the farmer, who is seeking a home among us, than any other we have yet witnessed. It is healthy, rich, and romantic. Good water, and wild game in abudance; and affords a munificent harvest to the planter, to the stock and to the cattle; and it just the place to enjoy "the comforts of a pretty wife and a happy home." "A life in the woods for me" Butler is a small but pleasant place - containing one dry-goods store, an M.D.'s office, and several work-shops." Mr. Hillery Manning has erected quite a tasteful structure for a dwelling. ----------------------------------------------------- Dallas Morning News - Jan. 25, 1905 edition - Page: 7 Department Notes Washington, Jan. 24 - Fourth-class postmasters appointed: Butler, Freestone County, William S. Franklin, vice William S. Wood, resigned; ------------------------------------------------------------ *1* = River Mileages: Magnolia = 512; Blackshear's = 522; Bonner's Ferry = 535; Sulphur = 538; Parker's Bluff = 543; WEST POINT = 558; PINE BLUFF = 575; Jackson's Bluff = 595.