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County · code 20015

Butler CountyKansas

Butler County is a county in Kansas, with its seat in El Dorado. It was created in 1855 from Breckenridge and Lyon counties and named after Andrew Butler.

  • Founded1855
  • County seatEl Dorado
  • Named forAndrew Butler
  • Land area1,430 sq mi + 17 sq mi water
  • Population67,380 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped33,785 checked 15 October 2026
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Updated

CowleyChaseGreenwoodSedgwickMarion El Dorado Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Butler on the map of Kansas

Kansas has 105 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Allen CountyAnderson CountyAtchison CountyBarber CountyBarton CountyBourbon CountyBrown CountyChase CountyChautauqua CountyCherokee CountyCheyenne CountyClark CountyClay CountyCloud CountyCoffey CountyComanche CountyCowley CountyCrawford CountyDecatur CountyDickinson CountyDoniphan CountyDouglas CountyEdwards CountyElk CountyEllis CountyEllsworth CountyFinney CountyFord CountyFranklin CountyGeary CountyGove CountyGraham CountyGrant CountyGray CountyGreeley CountyGreenwood CountyHamilton CountyHarper CountyHarvey CountyHaskell CountyHodgeman CountyJackson CountyJefferson CountyJewell CountyJohnson CountyKearny CountyKingman CountyKiowa CountyLabette CountyLane CountyLeavenworth CountyLincoln CountyLinn CountyLogan CountyLyon CountyMcPherson CountyMarion CountyMarshall CountyMeade CountyMiami CountyMitchell CountyMontgomery CountyMorris CountyMorton CountyNemaha CountyNeosho CountyNess CountyNorton CountyOsage CountyOsborne CountyOttawa CountyPawnee CountyPhillips CountyPottawatomie CountyPratt CountyRawlins CountyReno CountyRepublic CountyRice CountyRiley CountyRooks CountyRush CountyRussell CountySaline CountyScott CountySedgwick CountySeward CountyShawnee CountySheridan CountySherman CountySmith CountyStafford CountyStanton CountyStevens CountySumner CountyThomas CountyTrego CountyWabaunsee CountyWallace CountyWashington CountyWichita CountyWilson CountyWoodson CountyWyandotte CountyButler County Butler
Counties of Kansas · Butler highlighted

History

Formed in 1855 from Breckenridge County and Lyon County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Butler County was created by Kansas Territory on August 25, 1855, from Breckenridge and Lyon counties, but was not fully organized at first and was attached to Breckenridge for civil and military purposes. The county was fully organized on April 30, 1859, after being detached from Madison. Over the following years, Butler County gained and lost territory through several boundary adjustments, including gains from Greenwood, Hunter, and Madison, and losses to Chase, Greenwood, and Marion, as well as territory used to create Cowley, Sedgwick, and Sumner counties.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

  1. 1855
    Butler County created Butler created by Kansas Territory from non-county area; Butler not fully organized, attached to Breckenridge (now Lyon) "for civil and military purposes."
    from Breckenridgefrom Lyon
    · Kans. Terr. Laws 1855, 1st leg., ch. 30, secs. 23, 34/pp. 208, 210
  2. 1859
    Lost territory Butler lost to creation of Chase.
    to Chase
    · Kans. Terr. Laws 1859, 5th leg., ch. 46/p. 361
  3. 1860
    Gained territory Butler gained from Greenwood, Hunter (extinct), and Madison (Kansas Territory, extinct). Otoe (extinct) detached from Butler, attached to Breckenridge (now Lyon) "for judicial purposes."
    from Greenwoodfrom Hunterfrom Madisonfrom Otoefrom Breckenridgefrom Lyon
    · Kans. Terr. Laws 1860, chs. 29, 32/pp. 68, 70-71 and ch. 78, sec. 4/p. 133
  4. 1861
    Became part of Kansas Butler became a county in the state of Kansas. · U.S. Stat., vol. 12, ch. 20 [1861]/pp. 126-128; Van Zandt, 138-139
  5. 1864
    Gained territory Butler gained from Greenwood and Seward (original, extinct), lost to Chase. Butler gained all of Non-County Area 5, and gained all of Hunter, Irving, and Otoe. Hunter, Irving, and Otoe eliminated.
    from Greenwoodfrom Sewardfrom Chasefrom Hunterfrom Irvingfrom Otoe
    · Kans. Laws 1864, 4th leg., ch. 25/p. 50
Show all 16 changes (11 more)
  1. 1855
    Butler County created Butler created by Kansas Territory from non-county area; Butler not fully organized, attached to Breckenridge (now Lyon) "for civil and military purposes."
    from Breckenridgefrom Lyon
    · Kans. Terr. Laws 1855, 1st leg., ch. 30, secs. 23, 34/pp. 208, 210
  2. 1857
    Boundary clarified Butler boundaries redefined to run on federal land survey lines (no change). Butler detached from Breckenridge (now Lyon), attached to Madison (Kansas Territory, extinct) "for all civil, criminal and military purposes."
    with Breckenridgewith Lyonwith Madisonno change
    · Kans. Terr. Laws 1857, 2d leg., sec. 23/pp. 42-43 and p. 89
  3. 1859
    Lost territory Butler lost to creation of Chase.
    to Chase
    · Kans. Terr. Laws 1859, 5th leg., ch. 46/p. 361
  4. 1859
    Changed Butler fully organized, detached from Madison (Kansas Territory, extinct).
    Madison
    · Andreas, 1432; Mooney, 50; Kans. Terr. Laws 1859, 5th leg., ch. 51/pp. 367-368
  5. 1860
    Changed Otoe (extinct) not fully organized, attached to Butler "for judicial and county purposes."
    Otoe
    · Kans. Terr. Laws 1860, ch. 40/p. 80
  6. 1860
    Gained territory Butler gained from Greenwood, Hunter (extinct), and Madison (Kansas Territory, extinct). Otoe (extinct) detached from Butler, attached to Breckenridge (now Lyon) "for judicial purposes."
    from Greenwoodfrom Hunterfrom Madisonfrom Otoefrom Breckenridgefrom Lyon
    · Kans. Terr. Laws 1860, chs. 29, 32/pp. 68, 70-71 and ch. 78, sec. 4/p. 133
  7. 1861
    Became part of Kansas Butler became a county in the state of Kansas. · U.S. Stat., vol. 12, ch. 20 [1861]/pp. 126-128; Van Zandt, 138-139
  8. 1864
    Gained territory Butler gained from Greenwood and Seward (original, extinct), lost to Chase. Butler gained all of Non-County Area 5, and gained all of Hunter, Irving, and Otoe. Hunter, Irving, and Otoe eliminated.
    from Greenwoodfrom Sewardfrom Chasefrom Hunterfrom Irvingfrom Otoe
    · Kans. Laws 1864, 4th leg., ch. 25/p. 50
  9. 1865
    Lost territory Butler lost to Greenwood.
    to Greenwood
    · Kans. Laws 1865, 5th leg., ch. 15/p. 45
  10. 1867
    Lost territory Butler lost to Greenwood and Marion, and lost to the creation of Cowley, Howard (extinct), Sedgwick, and Sumner.
    to Greenwoodto Marionto Cowleyto Howardto Sedgwickto Sumner
    · Kans. Laws 1867, 7th leg., ch. 33, secs. 4-8, 10-11/pp. 51-52
  11. 1867
    Changed Cowley, Howard (extinct), Reno, Sedgwick, and Sumner attached to Butler "for judicial purposes."
    CowleyHowardRenoSedgwickSumner
    · Kans. Laws 1867, 7th leg., ch. 52, sec. 9/p. 87
  12. 1869
    Changed Cowley, Reno, Sedgwick, and Sumner remained attached to Butler "for judicial purposes." Howard (extinct) detached from Butler, attached to Greenwood "for judicial purposes."
    CowleyRenoSedgwickSumnerHowardGreenwood
    · Kans. Laws 1869, 9th leg., ch. 36, sec. 8/p. 121
  13. 1870
    Changed Cowley fully organized, detached from Butler.
    Cowley
    · Andreas, 1588; Kansas Counties, KSHS, http://www.kshs.org/genealogists/places/counties.htm, 20 October 2004
  14. 1870
    Changed Sedgwick fully organized, detached from Butler.
    Sedgwick
    · Andreas, 1385; Bentley, 494-495
  15. 1871
    Changed Sumner fully organized, detached from Butler.
    Sumner
    · Andreas, 1495; Caldwell Messenger, 257-258
  16. 1871
    Changed Reno detached from Butler, attached to Sedgwick "for judicial purposes."
    RenoSedgwick
    · Kans. Laws 1871, 11th leg., ch. 69, sec. 1/pp. 176-177

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Butler

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Butler by the Census

Population
67,380 2020 Census count
Housing units
26,901 2020 Census count
Land area
1,430 square miles
Water area
17 square miles
People per sq mi
47 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Butler County's official site

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County government

See your own lot on these maps

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Questions

Common questions about Butler County

When was Butler County founded?
Butler County was founded in 1855, formed from Breckenridge County and Lyon County, and named after Andrew Butler.
What is the county seat of Butler County?
The county seat of Butler County is El Dorado.
Is there an online parcel map for Butler County?
Yes. Butler County publishes a parcel map of 33,785 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Butler County's boundary or name changed?
Butler County was created in 1855 from Breckenridge County and Lyon County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 14 later changes, chiefly involving Greenwood County, Sedgwick County and Cowley County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Butler County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door