Butterfield, Missouri
city in Barry County, Missouri, United States
Butterfield is a city in Butterfield Township, Barry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 378 at the 2020 census.
History
Butterfield was platted in 1883. The town has the name of Fredrick Butterfield, a railroad official.
Geography
Butterfield is located along Missouri Route U one half mile east of Missouri Route 37. Purdy is approximately 4.5 miles to the north and Cassville is five miles to the south. The headwaters of Gunter Creek arise just south of the community.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.46 square miles (1.19 km2), all land.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 470 people, 146 households, and 118 families living in the village. The population density was 1,021.7 inhabitants per square mile (394.5/km2).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Butterfield, Missouri” is city in Barry County, Missouri, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Butterfield, Missouri and city, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city in Barry County, Missouri, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2489437. Authority coordinates are 36.749, -93.903. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1883 and 2010.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Butterfield, Missouri”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Butterfield, Missouri primary sources, Butterfield, Missouri archive and Butterfield research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Butterfield, Missouri”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Butterfield, Missouri” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.