Butler was heavily involved in local politics to ensure that African-American citizens in St. Johns County had a voice in elections. In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his associates Andrew Young, Ralph Abernathy and C.T. Vivian stayed at Butler's Inn. Butler's Beach became a state park in the 1960s, and over a two-year period from 1965-1967, the Florida State Parks System counted 84,618 overnight guests.