History: Butler Township, Clark Co., Wis.

Contact: mailto:Janet@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Albrecht, Arnold, Belden, Bigelow, Brandt, Brown, Burrington, Butler, Cole, Collins, Conklin, Connell, Coperhaver, Culp, Daines, Elmendorf, Farmer, Field, Girard, Gisse, Hatlestad, Hendrerson, Huebner, Hunter, Jefferson, Karpinski, Kile, Kosik, Kuehl, LaFraca, Manier, Markee, Mayenschein, McMahon, Miller, Mock, Moeller, Morrison, Much, Ocieczaek, Palmer, Reasby, Reineke, Schroeder, Shoemaker, Smith, Stanek, Steinhaus, Taylor, Tieman, Vanderhoef, Wavrunek, Williamson, Winkler, Wry, Zank

----Source: Clark County Atlas - 1986; Town of Butler, Thorp Courier (1972), Butler Town Hall

*Please contact us if you have additional information to add to this history.

THE HISTORY OF BUTLER TOWNSHIP

CLARK CO., WISCONSIN

(Anonymous Author)

A neighborhood center with a cheese factory and a schoolhouse in Section 14, Butler Township.

In the 1800's George A. and Nancy (Marsh) Butler moved here from Nelson, Buffalo Co., Wisconsin.  Six of their children bought land here, William Butler, Isaac "Ike" Homer Butler, David Noah Butler, George McLellan Butler, Christina Butler Brown, and Nora Butler Cole.  Ike Butler built a cheese factory here.  After the cheese factory closed, Marjory Palmer bought the building and ran a country store there.  Later Marjory converted the building into a nice home.

Dave Butler had a sawmill and also did custom threshing of oats with a steam engine for many years.

The Butlerville School

The first schoolhouse was a one-room building.  In 1912 a new schoolhouse was build.  Today (2013) it is the "Butler Town Hall." 

Butler Cemetery

In 1918 Eden Morrison donated an acre of land for a cemetery.  In 1919 Mrs. George M. Butler, Anna, 26 years old, was the first to be buried there.

Only three people of the Butler family are living here now.  Ray Collins, Grandson of Christina Butler Brown, Alma Kile, daughter of Dave Butler, and Laura Butler Mayenschein, daughter of George M. Butler.

Excerpts from The Thorp Courier, June 8, 1972.

The regular meeting of the Clark County Historical Society was called to order Thursday evening with Jack Conklin ringing the bell in the steeple of the Butler Town Hall, the former Butlerville School.

Mrs. Hugo Kuehl reminisced of the days when her family, the Kiles, moved into the logging camp with fourteen buildings still standing.  Especially recalled was the huge tree cut for kindling for the school, but it was a solid tree.  So the log was taken to the mill in Thorp, but it was tool large to go through the doorway.  A blasting expert offered to remove a little from the edges so the choice log could be made into lumber.  Instead the "expert" reduced the whole log to kindling.

Mrs. Curtis Mayenschein and her brother, Clarence Butler, recalled the days of clearing land with the help of Indians.  At sundown the Indians would have ceremonials circling the campfire on their spotted ponies.  Clarence Butler modeled the headdress of a chieftain and also displayed the war club, which had been given to his father.  Butler is the last descendent of the early settlers to bear the Butler name for whom Butlerville was named.

Alfred Hatlestad recalled his father buying two milk cans for the price of 50 cents in Greenwood.  Those were the days when wagon loads of watermelons and muskmelons were hauled to Thorp and Greenwood for sale.  It was in 1913 when "an ocean of blue" was seen in the Blue Swamp.  Blueberries were so plentiful that only a few could be sold for eight and ten cents a quart.  Others recalled coming from greater distances by wagon and camping out while on a blueberry "Safari."

Wooded Spile used for tapping Maple Trees

Reuben Burrington recalled the changes in making maple syrup, for which the Morrison Sugar Bush was well known.  He showed the wooded spiles along with others up to the modern kind.  Another of his relics on display was a yoke for an ox team.

Making Maple Syrup in Butler Twp., Clark Co., Wisconsin

Reviewing the days of Dr. Peder Cole, Butlerville county doctor, Mrs. Leonard Johnson told of her father being the pediatrician.  She has the stubs of the birth certificates with the last recorded when Dr. Cole was 81 years old.  Dr. Cole was also the Sunday School Superintendent during his years in the community.

The hub of Butlerville was a large cheese factory which later stood idle for a number of years.  Then it was rejuvenated into a country store.  The colorful landmark is now the home of the Rev. and Mrs. H. P. Palmer.  She was the former Marjory Morgan.  Her many articles on display included a hand-carved bevy of quails and a picture frame made with 20 kinds of wood identified on the back.  Mrs. Palmer brought the loveliness of nature in the far western Clark County to the meeting by potting a jack-in-the-pulpit, a lady slipper and wild columbine for display.

It was an effervescent meeting of good fellowship.  The Ladies Aid of Butlerville furnished the lunch.

Excerpts from The Thorp Courier, March 8, 1970

The district was able to close the school because the children could be accommodated in the elementary school in the city of Thorp.  Before the era of bussing, schools had to be built close enough together so that the students could walk to them.

Butlerville was one of at least two country schools which were located in the Town of Butler, with the other being known as the East Side School.

The school started out as a log structure constructed sometime around the turn of the century.  It was disassembled and then reassembled north of the present school, where it was occupied by Emil and Lizzie Reineke.  Teachers generally were paid $60 - &65 months.

The first community picnic was held at the town hall in 1975.  It is held the Saturday of Labor Day weekend.  The hall is also used for family get-togethers or funeral dinners.

The school is located ten miles south of Thorp on Capital Road, and then two miles west to Dickerson avenue.

STATE OF WISCONSIN, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS for 1916 - 1943, Children were born in the Town of Butler in the following families.  Albrecht, Arnold, Audorff, Belden, Bigelow, Brandt, Brown, Burrington, Butler, Collins, Conklin, Connell, Coperhaver, Culp, Daines, Elmendorf, Farmer, Field, Girard, Gisse, Hendrerson, Huebner, Hunter, Jefferson, Karpinski, Kile, Kosik, Kuehl, LaFraca, Manier, Markee, Mayenschein, McMahon, Miller, Mock, Moeller, Morrison, Much, Ocieczaek, Reasby, Reineke, Schroeder, Shoemaker, Smith, Stanek, Steinhaus, Taylor, Tieman, Vanderhoef, Wavrunek, Williamson, Winkler, Wry and Zank.

The first birth recorded was Bernard Tieman on 4-06-1916.  The last birth recorded was Virgil Milton Markee born on 4-17-1943.  Dr. B.A. Cole delivered most of the babies, the last one he delivered was Ruth Edith Kuehl on 2-08-1938.  Records show the other doctors were Dr. F.P. Neis, Dr. A.H. Kulig, Dr. Albion W. Overgaard, and Dr. R.E. Graber.

Most of the births occurred during the spring months of March, April and May.  The month with the least births was October.  The highest number of births in any given years was 13 born in 1932.  There were five sets of twins born in Butler Township to the families of Marshall and Phoebe Girard, John and Clara Hass, Lee and Nellie Henderson, and Ernest and Hazel Shoemaker (2).  Boys outnumber girls by the ratio of 4 to 3.

CAPTIONS IN THE 1935-36 YEARBOOK

Victor Kuehl: "For he who always does his best, the best will better grow."

Paul Shoemaker: "Wealth may seek us, but wisdom must be sought."

Arthur Shoemaker: "Courtesy pay compound interest."

Fern Shoemaker: "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance."

OTHER NOTES

Friend Morrison of the Town of Butler served with the Canadian Army in World War I.