James D. and Alice Butler House facts for kids
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James D. and Alice Butler House
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 Location in Florida
Location in the United States
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| Location | Deerfield Beach, Florida |
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| NRHP reference No. | 95000916 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | 28 July 1995 |
The James D. and Alice Butler House, commonly known as the Butler House, is a historic house museum in Deerfield Beach, Florida. It is located at 380 East Hillsboro Boulevard. On July 28, 1995, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Building
Built in the Mediterranean Revival style it was the home of early Deerfield Beach settlers and civic leaders, James D. and Alice Wood Butler. Alice Butler obtained the plans for the house from a popular ladies magazine, the Ladies Home Journal of September 1923. Situated on almost four city lots the home was built by Gulfstream Lumber Company of Delray at a cost of $10,000. It was built on the site of home the Butler's had purchased in 1912 for $300. The building is constructed of hollow tile, the interior walls are plaster on lath and the roof is made from Spanish terracotta tiles.
In 1974 the home was designated a Florida Historic Site. In 1977 the Butler family deeded the home and grounds to the Deerfield Beach Historical Society which operates it as a historic house museum.
James D. and Alice Butler
Married in 1906 in Texas the Butlers came to Deerfield Beach in 1910 to visit James Butler's sister and remained. They became popular and public-spirited citizens of Deerfield Beach. James Butler was a member of Broward County's first school board when the county was formed in 1915. He served on the Broward County Board of County Commissioners for eight years and the Deerfield Beach City Commission for four. Alice Butler helped found the Deerfield Beach Woman's Club and they both participated in establishing the First Baptist Church of Deerfield. James Butler died in 1965 and Alice Butler in 1976. They are both buried in the Deerfield Beach Memorial Cemetery.
Modern times
The Butler House has been fully restored and contains many of the original furnishings, an exception being the dining room table that was replaced after the original had been used to protect the west dining room window during the San Felipe Segundo hurricane in 1928. The wicker furniture purchased by the Butlers in 1923 for $500 is featured, as are hats from the flapper era and the lion's paw bathtub. As of 2018[update] the house is open to the public monthly. The property features a one–hundred year old Banyan tree where the Deerfield Beach Historical Society holds events. The society operates the property as an event venue and maintains its headquarters there in addition to the function of the home as a museum.
