Cotter, Arkansas - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

According to legend and folklore as well as history, prior to the white man settling in the Ozarks, the Cotter area was inhabited by bluff dwellers living in the many caves and rock shelters. This area was then known among the Indians as the “Province of Coligoa.” One of the first original accounts of the white man visiting this area was Hernandez DeSoto in his journey through Arkansas in 1543 were he and his band of Christians was welcomed by Chief Ozarkus at what we now know as the Big Spring in Big Spring Park. In 1829, the Cherokees, known as the civilized tribe, made their way westward to Oklahoma during their infamous march known as “The Trail of Tears.” Today, Cotter streets bear the historic signs noting parts of that trail.

In 1868, Jonathan Cunningham homesteaded 300 acres here, but later sold his property to L.P. Kemp in 1883. At that time, there was a ferry landing about 100 yards downriver from the R.M. Ruthvin Bridge, better known as Cotter’s Rainbow Arch Bridge. The ferry landing was called Lake’s Ferry and was operated by the power of the river itself, with no other power required.

Later, the Cotter townsite of 300 acres was owned by the Red Bud Realty Company and were incorporated into the Company in 1903. The principles of Red Bud Realty Company were W.V. Powell of St. Louis, Jerry South and Thomas Combs, remembered today mainly because Cotter streets are named for them.

When the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, which later became a part of the Missouri Pacific System, was laying track from Newport, Arkansas to Carthage, Missouri, a convenient midway site for a division point was at the White River in Baxter County. The place was named Cotter in honor of one of the civil engineers, Rail Road Manager, William Cotter, on the project and a city was born……

The community’s leaders petitioned to incorporate the town on July 7, 1904, and the City of Cotter was officially opened November 23, 1905.

Most likely because of the contagious excitement of the Iron Horse spawning a new town in the Ozarks, the city’s opening was the largest northern Arkansas had ever seen. According to “The History of Baxter County,” it was reported that 4,000 people attended the city’s opening, more than four times the current population.

Today, citizens as well as tourist enjoy Cotter as a quiet, but uniquely historic, little town nestled in a peninsula of the White River in northern Arkansas. We are a very family oriented community and embrace the natural beauty and entertainment of the Ozarks.