History:  Butler Township, Clark Co., Wisconsin (1986)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon

E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Butler, Brown, Cole, Palmer, Morrison, Collins, Kile, Mayenschein, Conklin, Kuehl, Hatlestad, Burrington, Cole, Johnson, Morgan, Palmer, Reineke, Albrecht, Arnold, Audorff, Belden, Bigelow, Brandt, Brown, Butler, Connell, Coperhaver, Culp, Daines, Elmendorff, Farmer, Feild, Girard, Gisse, Henderson, Huebner, Hunter, Jefferson, Karpinski, Kisik, LaPlaca, Manier, Markee, McMahon, Miller, Mock, Moeller, Morrison, Much, Ocieczek, Reasby, Schroeder, Shoemaker, Smith, Stanek, Steinhaus, Taylor, Tieman, Vanderhoef, Wawrunek, Williamson, Winkler, Wry, Zank, Neis, Kulig, Overgaard, Graber

----Source: Various Sources, Clark Co, WI

Town of Butler, Clark Co., Wisconsin

From THE CLARK COUNTY ATLAS - 1986:

In the 1800’s George A. Butler moved here.  Six of his children bought land here, William Butler, Isaac Ike Butler, Dave Butler, George M. Butler, Christina Butler Brown, and Nora Butler Cole.  Ike Butler built a cheese factory here.  After the cheese factory closed, Margery Palmer bought the building and a country store.  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 first schoolhouse was a one-room building.  In 1912 a new schoolhouse was built.  It is not “Butler Townhall.”  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 too 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 camp fire on their spotted ponies.  Clarence Butler modeled the head chieftain and also displayed the war club, which had been given to his father.  Butler is the last descendant 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   camping out while on a blueberry ‘safari.’

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

Reviewing the days of Dr. Peder Cole, Butlerville country doctor, Mrs. Leonard Johnson told of her father being the pediatrician.  She told 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 Reverend and Mrs. H. P. Palmer.  She was the former Margery 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’s slipper and wild columbine for display.

It was an effervescent meeting of good fellowship   furnished the lunch.

Excerpts from THE THORP COURIER, March 8, 1990

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 school being known as the Eastside School. 

The school started out as a log structure 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 monthly.

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 to Capital Road and then two miles west to Dickerson Avenue.

STATE OF WISCONSIN, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, BUREAU

Children were born in the Town of Butler to the following families: Albrecht, Arnold, Audorff, Belden, Bigelow, Brandt, Brown, Burrington, Butler, Collins, Conklin, Connell, Coperhaver, Culp, Daines, Elmendorff, Farmer, Feild, Girard, Gisse, Henderson, Huebner, Hunter, Jefferson, Karpinski, Kile, Kisik, Kuehl, LaPlaca, Manier, Markee, Mayenschein, McMahon, Miller, Mock, Moeller, Morrison, Much, Ocieczek, Reasby, Reineke, Schroeder, Shoemaker, Smith, Stanek, Steinhaus, Taylor, Tieman, Vanderhoef, Wawrunek, Williamson, Winkler, Wry, and Zank.

The first birth recorded was Bernard Tieman on 4-06-16.  The last birth recorded was Virgil Milton Markee born on 4-17-43.  Dr. B. A. Cole delivered most of the babies; the last one he delivered was Ruth Edith Kuehl on 2-08-38.  Records show the other doctors were DR. F. P. Neis, Dr. A. H. Kulig, Dr. Albon 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 year was born 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 Gisse, Lee and Nellie Henderson, and Ernest and Hazel Shoemaker (2). Boys outnumbered girls by the ratio of 4 to 3.

CAPTIONS IN THE 1935-36 YEAR BOOK

Victor Kuehl: “For he always does his best, his best will grow.”

Paul Shoemaker:  “Wealth May seek us, but wisdom must be sought.”

Arthur Shoemaker:  “Courtesy pays compound interest.”

Fern Shoemaker:  “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.”

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