History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/3/Counties/Butler
BUTLER COUNTY is in the third tier south of the Minnesota line, in the fourth west of the Mississippi River, and contains sixteen congressional townships, making an area of five hundred seventy-six square miles. It was taken from territory formerly embraced in the counties of Fayette and Buchanan, was established in 1851 and named for General William O. Butler, an officer in the Mexican War and Democratic candidate for Vice-President in 1848.
The first white men who settled in the county were two brothers, Harrison and Volney Carpenter who, in 1850, went from Linn County up the Cedar and Shellrock rivers hunting and trapping. They were charmed with the country and made claims and built a log cabin in a grove where the town of Shellrock stands. In September of the same year Henry J. Hicks and Robert T. Crowell, from Wisconsin, settled at Coon Grove near where Clarksville has since been built. During the winter these pioneers carried on their backs supplies for their families from Cedar Falls. They found support through hunting, trapping and fishing until land could be brought under cultivation. In 1851 Jeremiah Perrin, M. A. Taylor, Mahlon B. and William S. Wamsley, Seth Hilton and others came and also entered land.
In 1853 the county-seat was located at Clarksville, a town laid out by Thomas and Jeremiah Clark and D. C. Hilton, and name for the proprietors; the plat embraced forty acres.
The first county officers were: John Palmer, judge; W. C. Burton, clerk; Abner G. Clark, treasurer; R. T. Crowell, sheriff, and Hardin Baird, prosecuting attorney. The permanent organization of the county was made in October, 1854. A post-office was established at Coon Grove in 1853 of which Abner G. Clark was the first postmaster; later this settlement became Clarksville. In the spring of 1855 Miss Malinda Searls opened the first school in a log cabin at Clarksville. J. D. Thompson, judge of the Thirteenth District held the first term of court in the county in October, 1857. In July, 1858, Palmer and James established a newspaper at Clarksville, naming it the Butler County Transcript. This was the first paper in the county. The Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad was built through the south part of the county in 1865.