Bartley was organized and platted on July 3, 1886. It was named after the Rev. Allen Bartley, a Methodist Episcopal minister, who homesteaded the land on which Bartley stands. It was the intention to make Bartley a school town and establish a Methodist college. The first story of a building was erected and several terms of school were held, bu the needed support did not materialize and the project was abandoned unfortunately. Today, Bartley has 283 residents, and I am happy to say, most are library users.