OpenStreetMap
Butler has to be the smallest place I’ve mapped. From the buildings and traces of sidewalks that are visible but now overgrown with trees and grass it’s clear this was once a more populated area. The Day County GIS shows that properties to the eastern side of the town were owned by a railroad. The properties in the center and western ends are mostly held in trusts — children and perhaps grandchildren of former residents.
According to the UnmappedSmallTownUSA bot that posts about towns needing mapping, the population is 13. Wikipedia lists the 2020 Census as 4.
Discussion
Comment from Adrian Shobrooke on 28 September 2026 at 13:22
Hi. Nice mapping. Do you know why roads were planned at a around a half-mile grid? I’m assuming it was to encourage the development of the area, but that’s a lot of work!
Adrian
Comment from pussreboots on 28 September 2026 at 21:21
My guess is that they were laid out to accommodate the homesteads. Each homestead (assuming they were all claimed and thrived… which didn’t happen) is approximately a .25 of a square mile. So you would have roads surrounding four homesteads. If each homestead was successful and the land was later developed, you could get small towns which in turn could become cities. Butler is what remains of a community built on Harrison Butler’s land. The square shape and footprint points at it being granted as part of the homestead act.
Comment from Adrian Shobrooke on 28 September 2026 at 21:41
Thank you for your answer.