Government

• Mayor: Linda Jordon
• Mayor Pro Tem: Vicky Daniels
• Town Hall: 415 Central Avenue, Suite A, Butner, NC 27509 · (919) 575-3032
• Form of government: Council-Manager (NCGS 160A-147); Mayor 2-year term; 6 Council members 4-year terms
• Site: butnernc.org

Town Council Meetings

1st Thursday of each month, 6:30 PM, at Town Hall.

Population

• 2020 Census: 8,397
• 2024 estimate: approximately 8,065–8,134 (slight decline from peak)
• One of the largest towns in Granville County, driven by institutional employment

The Butner Story

Butner is one of NC’s youngest incorporated municipalities. Until 2007, it was governed by the State of NC via an appointed Municipal Committee, not a normal town government.

• 1942: Camp Butner established — ~40,300 acres of southern Granville farmland purchased by the federal government to train WWII infantry divisions. Named after Maj. Gen. Henry Wolfe Butner.
• 1947: Camp Butner closed. ~20,000 acres sold back to farmers; ~5,000 to the NC National Guard; 13,000+ acres transferred to NC.
• 1948: John Umstead Hospital (psychiatric) and Murdoch Center (then “The Colony”) opened on former Army hospital land.
• 1947–2007: Butner was governed by the NC State Legislature via the State Board of Mental Health, then DHHS, via the Butner Municipal Committee.
• July 27, 2007: Gov. Mike Easley signed the Butner Incorporation Bill (#986).
• November 1, 2007: Town of Butner officially incorporated as a municipality.

Federal & State Institutions

Butner has an unusually high concentration of federal and state facilities:

• FCC Butner (Federal Correctional Complex) — Federal Bureau of Prisons multi-facility complex, including a medical center for federal inmates
• Murdoch Developmental Center — comprehensive residential services for severely intellectually/developmentally disabled individuals (state)
• R.J. Blackley Developmental Center — state facility serving adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities
• John Umstead Hospital — state psychiatric hospital serving 16 NC counties

The town government’s jurisdiction does not extend over these federal or state campuses themselves.

Public Safety

Butner has its own Butner Public Safety department — a combined police/fire/EMS model for the town. See butnernc.org/node/141.

Parks

• Gazebo Park
• Butner Cedar Glade (natural area)
• Town greenways and game lands
• Lake Holt (recreational feature)