 Three stories have grown up to explain the new name. The first says it is named for the famous Butterfield stagecoach line, even though the station was not on the Butterfield line. A second tale says that the town was renamed for a Colonel Butterfield, who was a frequent visitor. The third story gives the origin as the name of a railroad supervisor, D.A. Butterfield. This seems the most reasonable, given that by 1892, the Butterfield stagecoaches had already been long gone, and, except in Arkansas tall tales, towns are rarely named for visitors.