380 E Hillsboro Blvd
Deerfield Beach, FL, USA

National Register of Historic Places - James and Alice D. Butler House (Site No. BD130)

Statement of Significant:

Deerfield gained two new citizens in 1910 who would have a lasting impact on the community. James D. Butler and his wife, Alice, came from Texas to visit relatives in Deerfield and liked the area so much they decided to stay.

James D. Butler was born in Mitchell County, Georgia, in 1877. He later moved to Carthage, Texas to work in an uncle's dry goods store. He met Alice Wood in Mineral Wells, Texas, and the couple married in 1906. Alice Wood Butler was born in Ohio in 1884. In 1900 she had moved to Corpus Christi, Texas to live with an aunt and uncle following the death of her mother.
The couple settled in Carthage, Texas, where the first of their three children was born. None of the children lived past infancy. In 1909, the Butlers traveled east to visit relatives, first visiting Mr. Butler's parents in Georgia, then traveling on to visit his sister in Deerfield. At the end of this trip, they had planned to move to McAllister, Oklahoma, where Mr. Butler had secured a job. Apparently, the couple decided their prospects were better in Florida, for they decided to remain in Deerfield. They quickly became involved in the commercial and civic life of the community. Butler entered the grocery business in 1910. 1913, the couple became charter members of the First Baptist Church.

By 1912, James Butler had decided to try his hand at farming. He was joined in this venture by his younger brother, George Emory Butler, in 1915. They owned 640 acres, known as Butler Farms, at the intersection of Route 441 and Wiles Road. The primary crop was beans. They later expanded their property, so that about 800 acres were in cultivation yearly. Most of their produce was shipped by rail, but some was transported by the Clyde Steamship Line out of Jacksonville, and later through the port of Miami. The partnership was incorporated as Butler Farms, Inc. in 1937. The Butler brothers were noted for permitting blacks to share crop at a time when most other growers would hire them only as laborers. James Butler continued to farm until his death in 1965.

Both James and Alice Butler were active in civic affairs. Mr. Butler was a member of the first School Board of Broward County, serving from July 1915 to July 1919. In March 1923, he was appointed to the County Commission and served that body through 1928. From 1925-1927 he was also a member of the City Commission of Deerfield, and in 1935 and 1936 he served as mayor. Mrs. Butler was a charter member of the Deerfield Woman's Club which formed in 1919. She served as president of the organization in 1927 and 1929. Both continued to be active in the First Baptist Church.

The Butlers built a home on Hillsboro Boulevard, approximately one-quarter mile south of the Hillsboro River, in 1923. The house was reportedly based on plans they had ordered from the September, 1923 issue of Ladies Home Journal, which were than modified by Mrs. Butler. An article in that issue by Sarasota architect Dwight James Baum, describes and illustrates a two-story Mediterranean Revival house. It is quite different in exterior appearance from the Butler house, but there is a marked similarity in plan and room arrangement. The house was built at a cost of $10,000 and constructed by the Gulfstream Lumber Company of Delray Beach, Florida.

The Butlers lived in this house until their deaths. He died in 1965; she died in 1976. The Butlers were active participants in the early years of Deerfield's growth. In addition, they made a lasting contribution to their community through a bequest which left their home to the Deerfield Beach Historical Society, and by the establishment of a $6.4 million trust fund for scholarships for graduates of Deerfield Beach High School.