Editing Butler, Missouri (section)

===Post-Bellum=== 
A temporary structure for county business and court activities was constructed in late 1865 but proved inadequate. In 1869 a much larger two-story brick courthouse was constructed at a cost of $23,000.<ref name=Chamber/> While slowly continuing its recovery, Butler was finally incorporated as a village on June 19, 1872. Seven years later, on April 7, 1879 Butler was reincorporated as a fourth-class city, with William Page serving as the first mayor.<ref name=Ray/> Numerous mills and grain elevators became part of the growing Butler business community through the 1870s, providing opportunities for surrounding farms to process wool and various grains.<ref name=Ray/>

Butler gained electric power in 1881, being one of the first communities west of the Mississippi River to offer that convenience. Four large lights were mounted atop the Bates County courthouse, providing illumination for the downtown area. Butler became known as "The Electric City."<ref name=Juiced/><ref name=Ray/> The 1869 courthouse survived until 1899 when it was found to be structurally unsound; it was closed and demolished.<ref name=Chamber/>

After passage of a bond issue, construction of the new [[Bates County Courthouse]] began in 1901. The eighty-by-one hundred five foot Romanesque-style structure was built of "Carthage stone" from southern Missouri at a total project cost of $50,000 and was occupied in July, 1902.<ref name=Chamber/> By the early 20th century Butler's business listings included three banks, an opera house, four hotels, and a large number of general and specialty stores.<ref name=Ray/>

In 2008 Bates county residents erected a statue and plaque honoring the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers and the Battle of Island Mound on the grounds of the Bates County courthouse in Butler.<ref name=Battle/> The State of Missouri purchased a 40-acre property including part of the former Toothman homestead and established the "[[Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site]]" in October 2012.<ref name=Battle/>

The Bates County Courthouse and [[Palace Hotel (Butler, Missouri)|Palace Hotel]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>