Editing Cotter, Arkansas

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Cotter, Arkansas
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|motto                    = "Trout capital U.S.A."
|image_skyline            = Cotter Bridge, Baxter County, Arkansas.JPG
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Cotter Bridge over the White River
|image_seal               = 
|image_map                = File:Baxter County Arkansas Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Cotter Highlighted 0515490.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Cotter in Baxter County, Arkansas.
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Arkansas|County]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_name1        = [[Arkansas]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Baxter County, Arkansas|Baxter]]
|government_type          = [[Mayor–council government|Mayor–council]]
|leader_title             = Mayor
|leader_name              = Mac Caradine
|established_title        = Incorporated
|established_date         = November 23, 1905
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 6.34
|area_total_sq_mi         = 2.45
|area_land_km2            = 6.34
|area_land_sq_mi          = 2.45
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|elevation_ft             = 640
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 886
|population_metro         = 
|population_density_km2   = 139.78
|population_density_sq_mi = 362.08
|timezone                 = [[Central Time Zone (North America)|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|coordinates              = {{coord|36|16|55|N|92|31|16|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}<ref name=gnis/>
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 72626
|area_code                = [[Area code 870|870]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 05-15490
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2404136<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2404136}}</ref>
|footnotes                = 
|website                  = {{URL|http://www.cotterweb.com}}
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_05.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021}}</ref>
}}
'''Cotter''' is a city in [[Baxter County, Arkansas|Baxter County]], [[Arkansas]], United States. The population was 886 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].

==History==
[[File:Cotter Bridge Spanning White River wide.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The [[Cotter Bridge]] was critical in the development of The Ozarks.]]
[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] Bluff Dwellers were the original inhabitants of the area now known as Cotter for centuries before settlers arrived. When Native Americans were moved westward on the [[Trail of Tears]], approximately 1000 [[Cherokees]] crossed just a short distance upriver from the current location of Downtown Cotter.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cotterar.com/history/aramey1.htm |title=Cotter, Arkansas, history: Anne Ramey |access-date=August 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115114330/http://www.cotterar.com/history/aramey1.htm |archive-date=January 15, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Exploration and settlement===
In 1819, [[Henry Schoolcraft]] was exploring the Ozarks and spent a night in the Cotter area. He said of the area,<ref>Scenes and Adventures in the Semi-Alpine Regions of the Ozark of Missouri and Arkansas (1853) pg 120-121</ref>
 <blockquote>White River is one of the most beautiful and enchanting streams, and by far the most transparent, which discharge their waters into the Mississippi ... We here behold the assembled tributaries flowing in a smooth, broad. deep, and majestic current ... skirted at a short distance by mountains of the most imposing grandeur.... [The] extreme limpidity and want of colour ... was early seized upon by the French traders on first visiting this stream, in calling it "La Rivière Blanche" (White River).</blockquote>

In 1868, [[Jonathan Cunningham]] homesteaded 300 acres on a peninsula of the White River. In 1883, he sold it to [[L.P. Kemp]]. During that time, there was a ferry landing about 100 yards downriver called [[Lake's Ferry]]. The only power to operate the ferry was the current of the river. At the time, it was the only means of transportation across. Families would travel from Mountain Home and Yellville to visit the area, picnic, fish, and enjoy the nearby spring that was created naturally via the caves under the ground.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.railroadworkersmemorial.com/cotterhistory.htm |title=Early History of Cotter, Arkansas, site of the Railroad Workers Memorial |access-date=April 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821143359/http://www.railroadworkersmemorial.com/cotterhistory.htm |archive-date=August 21, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Future president, [[Herbert Hoover]], spent the summer of 1892 helping [[Geologist]] [[John C. Branner]] survey the northern [[Ozarks]]. By the early 1900s, there were many mining companies active in both Baxter and [[Marion County, Arkansas|Marion]] Counties. Cotter quickly became a central point where minerals could be shipped via [[steamboat]] to much larger cities in central Arkansas or southern [[Missouri]].

In 1902, the city opened a post office. In 1903, L.P. Kemp sold the 300 acres to the [[Red Bud Realty Company]] for an unknown amount. Red Bud's principles, [[W.V. Powell]], [[Jerry South]], and [[Thomas Combs]] all ended up having avenues named in their honor. A school opened in 1904. On July 7, 1904, 36 of the community's leaders petitioned to incorporate the town and on November 23, 1905, the city officially opened.

===White River Line===
Seeking to capitalize on the growing trade in the area, the [[St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway]] (St. L., I. M. & S.) commonly known as the Iron Mountain, (merged into the [[Missouri Pacific]] in 1917) announced plans to open the White River Line which would run through the area and would connect with the main line in Lake's Landing. In 1905, the Iron Mountain
bought the area and sold over one thousand lots, mostly to railroad employees.<ref>Bennett, Lola and Smith, Corinne. "Historic American Engineering Record Cotter Bridge (R.M. Ruthven Bridge)." 1988.[http://www.arkansashighways.com/historic_bridge/HAER%20Documents/AR-15%20Cotter%20Bridge%20(00702).pdf History.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213204906/http://www.arkansashighways.com/historic_bridge/HAER%20Documents/AR-15%20Cotter%20Bridge%20(00702).pdf |date=December 13, 2010 }} Page 3. Retrieved August 20, 2010.</ref> The city was incorporated in 1905 as Cotter, Arkansas.<ref>Ramey, Ann. "Cotter Historical Briefs." [http://www.cotterar.com/history/aramey1.htm History.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115114330/http://www.cotterar.com/history/aramey1.htm |date=January 15, 2011 }} Retrieved August 20, 2010.</ref> By that time, the population was over 600. The town was named after William Cotter, an official for the Iron Mountain. The materials required to build the town and railroad had to be brought in by steamboats down the White River. Once the railroad was completed, the use of steamboats on the rivers of Arkansas decreased and eventually ceased altogether. In 1906, the first passenger train arrived, and the tourist era began.  The Missouri Pacific was merged in the [[Union Pacific]] in 1982, and the White River division was spun off as the [[Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad]] MNA in 1992.

===Expulsion of African Americans===
The construction of the railroad brought many laborers, including African Americans, to the area. However, once the work was completed the sentiment among white residents turned against them. The [[anti-Black]] attitude was encouraged by a visit from Arkansas Governor [[Jeff Davis (Arkansas governor)|Jeff Davis]], who gave a racist speech in Cotter in 1904, and by the local newspaper, the ''Cotter Courier''. In April 1906 the ''Courier'' ran an editorial titled "Too Many Negroes", which said that local residents had a "feeling...that the negroes should move on." In and around August 1906, all of Cotter's African Americans were run out of town, except for one family of three, the Masons. In the 1950s advertisements for Cotter boasted that it was "100 per cent white", and the 1960 census recorded no African American residents.<ref name="Lancaster">{{cite web |last1=Lancaster |first1=Guy |title=Cotter Expulsion of 1906 |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/cotter-expulsion-of-1906-13837/ |website=CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas |publisher=Central Arkansas Library System |accessdate=September 28, 2020}}</ref>

===Cotter Bridge===

The mercurial [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]] caused many motorists problems, as the nearest crossing was over {{convert|100|mi|km}} to the north in [[Branson, Missouri]]. An inconvenient ferry system made the need for a bridge apparent. Locals wanted a bridge, but they strongly opposed a toll bridge.<ref>Bennett, Lola and Smith, Corinne. "Historic American Engineering Record Cotter Bridge (R.M. Ruthven Bridge)." 1988. [http://www.arkansashighways.com/historic_bridge/HAER%20Documents/AR-15%20Cotter%20Bridge%20(00702).pdf History.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213204906/http://www.arkansashighways.com/historic_bridge/HAER%20Documents/AR-15%20Cotter%20Bridge%20(00702).pdf |date=December 13, 2010 }} Page 6. Retrieved August 20, 2010.</ref> Arkansas did not have a central highway body at the time, and was instead a patchwork of [[Transportation of Arkansas#The "district approach" dooms hopes of unity|"road districts"]], which made the bridge-building efforts even more difficult. Without a toll, funding wasn't available until [[Arkansas Highway 12]] was redesignated [[U.S. Route 62]] in 1930. The [[Cotter Bridge]] was constructed through the area using a unique rainbow arch design.

==Geography==

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|2.5|sqmi|km2}}, all land.

== Government ==
=== Mayor–City Council ===
Cotter operates within the mayor–city council form of government. The mayor is elected by a citywide election to serve as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the city by presiding over all city functions, policies, rules and laws. Once elected, the mayor also allocates duties to city employees. Mayors serve two-year terms and can serve unlimited terms. The city council is the unicameral legislative of the City, consisting of six aldermen. Also included in the council's duties is balancing the city's budget and passing ordinances. The body also controls the representatives of specialized city commissions underneath their jurisdiction. Two aldermen are elected from each of the city's four wards.

==== Current Mayor and Council ====
'''MAYOR:''' McGeorge "Mac" Caradine<br>
'''Ward 1 Position 1:''' Carolyn Gill<br>
'''Ward 1 Position 2:''' Sheila Wingard<br>
'''Ward 2 Position 1:''' Charles "Chuck" Sugg<br>
'''Ward 2 Position 2:''' Linda McCarthy<br>
'''Ward 3 Position 1:''' Mertice Kray<br>
'''Ward 3 Position 2:''' Vacant

==== List of Mayors ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+Cotter Mayors
!
!Mayor
!Years Served
!Years Lived
|-
|1
|Charles B. Eaton
|1909-1922
|1861-1923
|-
|2
|Roderick M. Ruthven
|1922-1935
|1885-1962
|-
|3
|Hiram C. Lonon
|1935-1943
|1884-1970
|-
|4
|B.R. Pratt
|1943-1947
|    TBD-1949
|-
|5
|Hiram C. Lonon
|1947-1953
|1884-1970
|-
|6
|R.Howell Freeman
|1953-1963
|1903-1964
|-
|7
|Frank G. Wallick
|1963-1965
|Unknown
|-
|8
|Rex S. Bayless
|1965-1987
|1918-2010
|-
|9
|Lewis “Cajun” Dennis
|1987-1991
|TBD-2011
|-
|10
|Rex S. Bayless
|1991-1995
|1918-2010
|-
|11
|W.R. "Bill" Jennings
|1995-1999
|1926-2012
|-
|12
|J.D. Pratt
|1999-2003
|Unknown
|-
|13
|W.R. "Bill" Jennings
|2003-2005
|1926-2012
|-
|14
|Elwood "Mo" Monsley
|2005-2007
|1935-2015
|-
|15
|David J. McNair
|2007-2010
|Unknown
|-
|16
|Steven Raines
|2010-2010
|Unknown
|-
|17
|Peggy Hammack
|2011-2019
|Living
|-
|18
|McGeorge "Mac" Caradine
|2019–Present
|Living
|}

==== List of Police Chiefs ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+Cotter Police Chiefs
!Police Chief
!Years Served
|-
|John W. Hall
|1905-1906
|-
|Oscar Massey
|1906-1908
|-
|Sam Mankins
|1908-1910
|-
|M. Tanksley
|1910-1920
|-
|Sam Mankins
|1920-1924
|-
|Hez Robertson
|1924-1936
|-
|Roy Nesbit
|1936-1938
|-
|Freeman Martin
|1938-1943
|-
|C.E. Wyland
|1943-TBD
|-
|'''''Unknown'''''
|'''''TBD-1970'''''
|-
|Chris Bland
|1970-1970
|-
|Harold DePriest
|1970-1971
|-
|Ray Kirby
|1971-1972
|-
|William Green
|1972-1973
|-
|Elvin Weaver
|1973-1978
|-
|Melvin Weaver
|1978-1980
|-
|Frank DePriest
|1980-1986
|-
|Jack Burkhart
|1987-2005
|-
|Ronald Weaver
|2005-2006
|-
|Joe Robison
|2006-2006
|-
|Scott Thrasher
|2007-2010
|-
|Clinton Tilton
|2010-2017
|-
|Travis Hopson
|2017–Present
|}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 894
|1920= 884
|1930= 1064
|1940= 903
|1950= 1089
|1960= 683
|1970= 858
|1980= 920
|1990= 867
|2000= 921
|2010= 970
|2020= 886
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Cotter racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US0515490&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=January 1, 2022|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
| 784
| 88.49%
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 1
| 0.11%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 7
| 0.79%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 4
| 0.45%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
| 68
| 7.67%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
| 22
| 2.48%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 886 people, 419 households, and 271 families residing in the city.

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2010, there were 1,078 people, 472 households and 293 families residing in the city.  The population density was {{convert|373.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 501 housing units at an average density of {{convert|203.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the city was 97.07% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.87% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.22% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], and 1.85% from two or more races.  1.52% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 545<ref name="American Fact Finder">{{cite web | url=https://www.census.gov | title=2010 Census Results | accessdate=April 9, 2011}}</ref> households, out of which 20.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.67.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.7% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,857, and the median income for a family was $34,375. Males had a median income of $26,298 versus $17,266 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $15,893.  About 11.9% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

== Education ==
Formal education in Cotter began with Miss Cora Patterson teaching 40 students under a tent on January 4, 1904.<ref>{{ cite book |title=History of Baxter County, Arkansas: from the beginning to 1939 |date=December 1982 |oclc=733695700 |first= Frances Shiras |last=McClelland |page=52 |publisher=[[Saint Louis University]] |edition=2nd printing }}</ref> In 1915, Cotter schools merged with the East Cotter School District, with the [[Gassville, Arkansas|Gassville]] and [[Whiteville, Arkansas|Whiteville]] districts merging into Cotter in 1948.

Today, public education is provided by the [[Cotter School District]] including [[Cotter High School (Cotter, Arkansas)|Cotter High School]] (grades 7 through 12) and Amanda Gist Elementary School (kindergarten through grade 6).<ref>{{Cite map
  |publisher = US Census Bureau
  |title = School District Reference Map (2010 Census) Baxter County, AR
  |url = http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/sch_dist/st05_ar/c05005_baxter/DC10SD_C05005_001.pdf
  |accessdate = July 12, 2011 }}</ref>

==Media==
{{see also|List of newspapers in Arkansas|List of radio stations in Arkansas|List of television stations in Arkansas}}
Cotter and Baxter County are within the [[Springfield, Missouri]] TV market.

The city has been home to five newspapers over the years, the longest lasting being the ''Cotter Courier'' (1903-c. 1918)<ref name="fwa">{{cite book |last= Allsopp |first= Frederick W. |url=https://www.archive.org/stream/historyofarkansa00allsuoft |format= PDF |title= History of the Arkansas Press for a Hundred Years and More |year=1922 |publisher=Parke-Harper Pub. Co. |via=Southern Historical Press |author-link=Frederick W. Allsopp |location= Little Rock, Ark |edition=Reprint |isbn=9780893080730 |oclc=3576168 |page=60 }}</ref> and ''The Cotter Record'' (1911-1937).<ref name="harvp">{{cite book |last= Meriwether |first= Robert W. |title= A Chronicle of Arkansas Newspapers Published Since 1922 and of the Arkansas Press Association, 1930-1972 |year=1974 |publisher=Arkansas Press Association |location= Little Rock, Ark |oclc=2146483 |page=5 }}</ref> Publications lasting only a year or so include ''The White River Headlight'',<ref name="fwa" /> ''The Screech Owl'', and the ''Bull Shoals Gazette''.<ref name="harvp" /> Today, Cotter news is covered by ''[[The Baxter Bulletin]]''.

==Infrastructure==
=== List of highways ===
*[[Image:US 62 (1961).svg|20px]] [[Image:US 412.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 62 in Arkansas|US 62]]/[[U.S. Route 412 in Arkansas|US 412]]
*[[File:US 62B.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 62 Business (Cotter, Arkansas)|U.S. Route 62 Business]]
*[[Image:Arkansas 345.svg|24px]] [[Arkansas Highway 345]]

=== Railroads ===
Cotter has one local railroad, the [[Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad]]. The MNA leases the track from [[Newport, Arkansas|Newport]] to [[Kansas City, Missouri]], from the [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific]]. The regular train traffic are empty coal trains from The Independence power plant, as well as a north and south local out of Cotter. Additionally, there is a small [[Rail yard|railyard]] and crew change point

=== Airports ===
Cotter is accessible to two separate commercial airports, [[Ozark Regional Airport]] (Baxter County) and [[Flippin Municipal Airport]] 
(Marion County). There is also a rural air field, Valley Airport, located on Denton Ferry Road that serves small planes owned by residents.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/bas/bas11/st05_ar/incplace/p0515490_cotter/BAS11P10500015490_001.pdf Map of Cotter] (US Census Bureau)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121019104620/http://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/bas/bas11/st05_ar/cou/c05005_baxter/BAS11C20500500000_000.pdf Map of Baxter County] (US Census Bureau)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100528153130/http://www.baxtercountyhistory.org/ Baxter County Historical and Genealogical Society]

{{Baxter County, Arkansas}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Baxter County, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Cities in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1905]]
[[Category:1905 establishments in Arkansas]]