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Iowa County
Butler County, Iowa
Shell Rock River valley and north Iowa agriculture - from the Shell Rock River's scenic corridor through Butler County to the county's productive north Iowa agricultural landscape (Butler County's glacially-flattened terrain supports some of Iowa's most productive corn and soybean farmland, with Allison and Clarksville serving the surrounding farm communities that define the county's rural economic character).
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Office: Butler County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via butlercounty.iowa.gov.
Sheriff: Butler County Sheriff’s Office – 428 Sixth Street, PO Box 345, Allison, IA 50602 | (319) 267-2410 | Fax (319) 267-2135 or (877) 857-0241; Sheriff Jason Johnson. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-14 and IA-3 serve Allison, the county seat, in north-central Iowa.
Notes: Butler County was organized in 1854, named for General William Orlando Butler, a Kentucky statesman and Mexican War officer who ran unsuccessfully for Vice President in 1848. The county seat moved twice – from Clarksville (1854) to Butler Center (1860) – before an 1880 vote settled it permanently in the newly incorporated railroad town of Allison, chosen because the rail line bypassed both earlier seats.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Butler County Courthouse – 428 Sixth Street, Allison, IA (current building completed 1975, designed by Cervetti-Weber & Associates, replacing an 1881 courthouse enlarged in 1903 and 1937).
Notes: When the 1881 Butler County Courthouse was demolished in 1975, its dome-shaped cupola – 18 feet in diameter, 30 feet tall, and weighing roughly 7,000 pounds – was preserved and now tops the Butler County Hall of Fame building, which displays photos of inducted county residents alongside military artifacts dating to the War of 1812. The county also has one of Iowa’s Freedom Rock murals – part of a statewide tour honoring veterans across all 99 counties – located in a riverside park in downtown Greene along the Shell Rock River, most recently repainted by artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen in 2016. Nearby, the Shell Rock Bridge (built 1915) is separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Butler County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via butlercounty.iowa.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Allison Public Library (Allison) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Butler County Hall of Fame (with the historic courthouse cupola), the Freedom Rock mural in Greene, and the Shell Rock River corridor (smallmouth bass, walleye, catfish fishing) are the county’s premier heritage and outdoor attractions.
Notes: The genuine, preserved 1881 courthouse cupola atop the county Hall of Fame is among the more unusual pieces of local architectural history covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Butler County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via butlercounty.iowa.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Butler County animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Residents should contact the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, (319) 267-2410, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Butler County Environmental/Solid Waste – confirm current contact via butlercounty.iowa.gov.
NOTES: Butler County is the twelfth county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, preserved 1881 courthouse cupola atop the county Hall of Fame is among the more unusual pieces of local architectural history covered in this project. ⚠️ Animal services could not be confirmed and are flagged for follow-up rather than smoothed over. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Butler County
Butler County is north-central Iowa’s Shell Rock River agricultural county – the relatively flat, glacially-formed landscape produces high-yield corn and soybean crops across the county’s productive farmland while Allison and Clarksville provide the governmental and commercial services for surrounding rural communities.
Allison (the county seat, population ~1,000) is a small but central governmental hub for Butler County, with larger regional services available in nearby Waterloo and Mason City.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Butler County Assessor at 428 6th Street, Allison, IA 50602, phone 319-267-2264. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Butler County District Court at 428 6th Street, Allison, IA 50602, phone 319-267-2487, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
428 6th St., Allison, IA 50602
(319) 267-2487
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Butler County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Butler County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Butler County District Court, 1st Judicial District 428 6th Street, Allison, IA 50602 (319) 267-2487 Butler County is a small, rural county in north-central Iowa.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Iowa has its own comprehensive probate code (Iowa Code Chapter 633) and has not formally adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Iowa offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Distribution by Affidavit (“very small estates”) – for estates where the gross value of personal property is $50,000 or less and there is no real estate, available 40 days after death under Iowa Code § 633.356. A sworn affidavit is presented directly to banks and other institutions. No court filing is required.
Small Estate Administration – a simplified probate process under Iowa Code Chapter 635 for estates with a gross value of $200,000 or less, with reduced notice requirements and court costs compared to full administration.
Regular (Full) Probate – standard administration through the district court for larger or more complex estates, which can be independent (unsupervised) or supervised.
Supervised Administration – closer court oversight, typically used for contested estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Administration (if intestate) with the Butler County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; under independent administration, creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under independent administration – largely acts without ongoing court check-ins.
After the creditor period closes and debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets to heirs or beneficiaries.
File a final accounting/final report; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Personal representative fees are capped by statute at 3% of the gross value of the probate estate (excluding life insurance) unless services are itemized; attorney fees follow a similar framework.
Recording fees at the county recorder run about $7 for the first page of a document and $5 for each additional page.
Typical timelines: Distribution by Affidavit – a minimum 40-day wait; independent (unsupervised) probate typically closes in 6-12 months, with the 4-month creditor period as the primary timing constraint.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
428 6th St., Allison, IA 50602
(319) 267-2646
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
428 6th St., Allison, IA 50602
(319) 267-2530
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
428 6th St., Allison, IA 50602
(319) 267-2530
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Butler County Health Dept
(319) 267-2726
Iowa DHHS — Region 2
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
Waverly Health Center (Waverly)
waverlyhealthcenter.org
MercyOne North Iowa (Mason City)
mercyone.org/northiowa
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Butler County Public Health – confirm current contact via butlercounty.iowa.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Allison
Population: 14,500
Area: 580 sq mi
Established: 1851
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Butler County residents.
