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Missouri County
Butler County, Missouri
Poplar Bluff's regional hub and the Black River's Ozark border - from Poplar Bluff's role as the commercial center for a broad swath of southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas (the city's retail, healthcare, and services draw customers from multiple counties in two states, making it a significant regional hub for rural communities) to the Black River's excellent float fishing through the Ozark foothills and the Mark Twain National Forest's southeastern Missouri holdings.
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Office: Butler County Emergency Management – 614 Lindsay Avenue, Ste 1C, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 | (573) 686-8686.
Sheriff: Butler County Sheriff’s Office – 200 Oak Street / 200 Phillip Kearbey Blvd., Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 | (573) 785-8444 / (573) 785-8445 / (573) 785-8446 | Fax: (573) 778-8016 or (573) 778-8024.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-60 and US-67 cross at Poplar Bluff, the county seat, nicknamed “The Gateway to the Ozarks.”
Notes: Butler County, organized from Wayne County on February 27, 1849, is named for U.S. Representative William Orlando Butler of Kentucky, an unsuccessful vice-presidential candidate. Roughly 41,900-42,100 residents. Poplar Bluff serves as a regional hub for education, healthcare, business, and light industry for over 100,000 people across the county and surrounding area, sitting roughly midway between St. Louis and Memphis.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Butler County Courthouse – Public Square, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 | (573) 686-8081; NRHP-listed, built 1928 in Classical Revival style.
Notes: IMPORTANT for InmateAid readers: Butler County is home to the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center (1500 North Westwood Boulevard, Poplar Bluff), a general medicine teaching hospital anchoring the VA Poplar Bluff Health Care system and providing training in nursing, lab technology, dental assisting, social work, physical therapy, and optometry. Poplar Bluff also preserves several NRHP-listed historic structures, including the 1936 Colonial Revival Poplar Bluff Public Library building and the 1891 Queen Anne-style John Archibald Phillips House.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Butler County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via butlercountymo.com.
Federal: John J. Pershing VA Medical Center – 1500 North Westwood Boulevard, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901; a full-service regional VA facility directly serving the county.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Poplar Bluff Public Library – 318 N. Main St., Poplar Bluff, MO 63901; NRHP-listed 1936 Colonial Revival building with a Local History and Genealogy digital collection; a branch, the Dr. Gus T. Ridgel Branch Library (3398 Kanell Blvd.), opened in 2019 and was named in 2020 for a prominent Poplar Bluff native.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Rodgers Theatre, the Butler County Courthouse historic district, and the surrounding Black River/Ozark Foothills recreation areas are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine presence of the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center is a directly InmateAid-relevant distinctive local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Butler County Assessor – confirm current contact via butlercountymo.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Poplar Bluff Animal Control – 1500 West Butler Street, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 | (573) 686-8635 | Hours: Mon/Wed/Fri 11 AM onward (confirm current full hours).
Pawtners for Life Humane Society – 2064 County Road 607, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 | (573) 686-5102; the area’s first no-kill shelter, established 2004.
Animal Welfare Alliance of Southeast Missouri – Poplar Bluff-based; coordinates animal welfare efforts across Butler, Wayne, Carter, and Ripley Counties.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Butler County – confirm current contact via butlercountymo.com.
NOTES: Butler County is the twelfth county in the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine presence of the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center is directly InmateAid-relevant. 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 southeastern Missouri’s regional commercial hub county – a Black River community serving as the trade and healthcare center for a broad rural region spanning Missouri and Arkansas.
Poplar Bluff (the county seat, population ~17,000) is one of southeastern Missouri’s most significant cities – Three Rivers College, Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, and a diverse retail base serve a regional population well beyond the county’s borders. The city’s position on US-60 and at the edge of the Ozarks and the Bootheel makes it a natural commercial crossroads.
The Black River flowing through the county provides excellent smallmouth bass fishing and canoeing, and the Mark Twain National Forest provides hunting and recreation access.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Butler County Assessor at 100 N. Main Street, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901, phone 573-686-8084. MO residential assessed at 19% of true value. Appeal to Board of Equalization.
Courts & Legal
Butler County Circuit Court at 100 N. Main Street, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901, phone 573-686-8050, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
100 N. Main St., Poplar Bluff, MO 63901
(573) 686-8050
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Butler County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate 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 Circuit Court, Probate Division 100 North Main Street, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 (573) 686-8082 Butler County is in southeastern Missouri, seated in Poplar Bluff.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Missouri probate is governed by Title XXXI of the Missouri Revised Statutes (Chapters 470-475), the Probate Code.
Small Estate Affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) – available when the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000. A 30-day waiting period after death applies, and only if no application for letters is pending. If the property listed is worth more than $15,000, the clerk must publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. A bond may be required. Once the court issues a certified small estate certificate, the affiant presents it directly to whoever holds the property to collect and distribute assets – avoiding full probate. Typical timeline: about two months to close, versus six months to a year or more for full probate.
Formal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. A petition for Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one) is filed with the probate division. After review, the court appoints the personal representative and issues the letters. Missouri offers both supervised and independent administration. Missouri requires an attorney to represent the personal representative in both types of administration.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors have 6 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
Within 30 days of appointment (unless the court extends the deadline), the personal representative files an inventory and appraisement of all estate assets.
After debts are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and files a final settlement with the court to close the estate.
What it costs
Missouri sets statutory minimum fees for attorneys and personal representatives based on a percentage of the estate’s value, though additional fees may be allowed for extraordinary services.
Missouri has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
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
100 N. Main St., Poplar Bluff, MO 63901
(573) 785-3425
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
100 N. Main St., Poplar Bluff, MO 63901
(573) 686-8050
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Butler County Health Department – confirm current phone via butlercountymo.com.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Poplar Bluff
Population: 42,000
Area: 698 sq mi
Established: 1849
Tier: 3
Public Records
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