Cotter, a small town in the the Ozarks, close to the border to Missouri, was once the place where the Cherokee indians' trail of tears crossed the White RIver back in 1838-1839. But the town wasn't called Cotter back then. As a settlement it was called Lake's Ferry or Lake's landing since a ferry crossed the river downstream and a steamboat landing was located just upstream. AS the town grew bigger it was called Big Spring thanks to the rich resources of the river. In the begging of the 20th century a railroad was built thru Big Spring and a railroad yard, tunnel and bridge were constructed. Big Spring got a post office in 1903 and a school in 1904. The first train came to the town in early 1906. the railroad manager's name was William Cotter and it is in his honor the town is named. When car became more common and traffic became heavier a highway bridge was built at Cotter in 1930. The Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge was one of the worlds largest bridges.
After the second world war two dams, Norfork and Bull Shoals were built upstream and downstream from Cotter. These were uses for power plants.
After 1960 passenger traffic thru Cotter stopped and the town started to decline slowly until 1992 when the Cotter Care Crew started building up the little town once more and today Cotter has a population of about 900

City Officials

Position	Name
Mayor	Mac Caradine
Recorder/Treasurer	Andrea Kray
District Judge	Jodi Carney
City Attorney	Roger Morgan
Police Chief	Michael Patterson
Fire Chief	Lyle Jack
Director Of Public Works	Justin Morrow
Code Enforcement Officer	Justin Morrow
Council Member	Carolyn Gill
Council Member	Mertice Kray
Council Member	Linda McCarthy
Council Member	Charles Sugg
Council Member	Sheila Wingard
Council Member	Ben Woodard