Festus Orestes Butt (February 3, 1875 – June 30, 1972) was an American lawyer, judge, politician and businessman. He served two terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1897 to 1900. He served as a state senator in Arkansas from 1903 to 1906.
Early life Butt was born on February 3, 1875, near Lovington, Illinois. William Alvin Butt Sr., a farmer and Union Army veteran, and Anne Maria Weaver Butt were his parents. He grew up in Green Forest, Arkansas.
Career Butt served two terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1897 to 1900. He served as a state senator in Arkansas from 1903 to 1906. He was convicted of bribery for an appropriation related to construction of a new state capitol. Governor X. O. Pindall pardoned him on June 27, 1907.
He was elected mayor of Eureka Springs in 1911 and served two terms. He was appointed as a delegate to the 1917–1918 Arkansas Constitutional Convention. He was elected to his old state senate district in 1926, serving in 1927 and again in 1930.
Personal life and death Butt married Essie Mae Cox on May 21, 1901, and they had seven children.
He died in Fayetteville, Arkansas on June 30, 1972. Fayetteville A historical marker at his law office commemorates his history.
References
External links Festus Orestes Butt Findagrave page