Cotton Plant

Cotton Plant is one of the most historical sections of Woodruff County, with a settlement originally called Richmond established in 1820. In 1846, William Lynch arrived from Mississippi, built a house and a store, and planted cottonseed from Mississippi beside the store.  The plant was such a novelty for the area that people began calling the community Cotton Plant.  The name stuck when the town applied for a post office in 1852, since another community had already claimed the name Richmond. True to its name, cotton remains a major crop.

In the early 1900s, Cotton Plant was a cultural center with an opera house and several music and literary clubs. In addition, Cotton Plant Academy for African Americans opened in the 1880s and ran until the 1930s, when it merged with another academy.   

Two great music talents came out of Cotton Plant. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, born and raised in Cotton Plant, was one of gospel music’s first superstars and the first gospel performer to record for a major record label. She has been cited as an influence on later musicians, including Bob Dylan, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash. William Bunch, known professionally as Peetie Wheatstraw, also came from Cotton Plant and became an influential figure among 1930 blues singers.

The population of Cotton Plant has dwindled from a high of more than 1800 to about one-third of that today. Despite the dwindling population, the Cotton Plant Historical Museum was founded in 2014 in an effort to keep the town’s rich history alive. There are also Arkansas Delta “Soil and Soul” music trail markers for Tharpe and Wheatstraw.