Buttonwillow at an elevation of .
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History
thumb|The buttonwillow tree ([[Cephalanthus occidentalis) for which the community is named]]
The town was originally called Buena Vista when it was founded in 1895, but the name quickly became Buttonwillow. The Miller & Lux holdings company eventually established a headquarters and store near the tree. This tree is listed as California Historical Landmark No. 492. This landmark is now known as the Buttonwillow Tree.
California Historical Landmark reads:
:.NO. 492 BUTTONWILLOW TREE - This lone tree, which gave the town of Buttonwillow its name, served as a landmark on an old trans-valley trail. An ancient Yokuts Indian meeting place, it later became the site of settlers' stock rodeos. Miller and Lux established their headquarters and store here about 1885."
The first United States Post Office at Buttonwillow was established in 1895.
Buttonwillow's main industry is cotton farming.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, Buttonwillow has an area of , all of it land. Buttonwillow is also locally known as the cotton country, due to the abundant planting of cotton in the vicinity.
Beginning about south of town along Elk Hills Road, between Buttonwillow and Taft, is the enormous Elk Hills Oil Field, formerly the Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1, which figured prominently in the Teapot Dome scandal that tarnished the administration of President Warren G. Harding. Occidental Petroleum bought the reserve from the U.S. Department of Energy in 1998, and is the current primary operator of the oil field.
Climate
Buttonwillow has a cold desert climate (BWk) typical of the southern part of California's Central Valley with hot, dry summers and cool winters.