After the death of Butler's wife, Ann, in 1886, a syndicate of businessmen, including Alexander Forrest and George Leake, persuaded Butler's children to sell the land. In 1891, it was subdivided and lots were sold for £7 to £12 each. Two of the earliest residents were Edward Vivien Harvey Keane, Lord Mayor of Perth, and John Forrest, Premier of Western Australia. Just four years later, residents got a road board, later to become the Peppermint Grove Shire Council – to this day, the smallest in Australia at just 1.1 km².