Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
History comes alive with visit to Potts Tavern near Russellville
Astately white mansion surrounded by numerous outbuildings stands just east of Main Street. Beautiful in design, it has two stories with a portico extending out from the entryway. Chimneys extend fingers upward from each end of the building, casting shadows on the wooden shake roof. Surrounded by various log cabins, barns and wagon sheds, Potts Tavern transports you back to the antebellum days of Arkansas.
Potts Tavern was built by John Kirkbride Potts in the 1850s. Potts was one of the founding fathers of Arkansas and very involved in the early history of the western part of the state. Born in Pennsylvania, he traveled west at age 17, eventually joining with William and Robert Logan as they migrated into Arkansas and settled in the river bottoms south of Magazine Mountain. It is said that the wagon train bringing the famous Logan family, Potts, and others to Arkansas stretched for over a mile and consisted of numerous family members, livestock and a number of slaves.
In 1828, a federal treaty removed the Cherokee from Arkansas, allowing Potts and others to obtain land along the Arkansas River. Potts settled for a time at Galla Creek and served as an Indian agent for the Cherokee and Choctaw. He later bought a land patent for 650 acres of land on Galla Creek, paying the government 25 cents an acre for his land. He built a two-level log house on his property, a home his family lived in for the next 25 years.
Like many Arkansans, Potts joined the California gold rush in 1849 and, like many others, he failed to strike gold. A smart businessman, he realized that the real money was in supplying goods and food for the miners. He made at least two cattle drives, taking fattened cattle to the expanding California market. Using the considerable profit from his work, he returned to Arkansas and built the grand house that now stands on the property.
The beautiful home located along the major road west through central Arkansas attracted the eye of John Butterfield, who was establishing a mail and passenger route to California. Contracting with Potts, the home became a favorite stage stop, hotel and post office. One of the primary selling points for staying overnight at the tavern was the fact you could get a hot bath in an actual bathtub. The tub, located in the kitchen so that hot water was accessible, was probably not that private, but it was a luxury for travelers of that time period. Additionally, all guests used the same tub and water with the first guest paying a higher fee and the last having to empty the tub.
During the mid-1800s, having a large outhouse was a sign of a family’s wealth, and people were judged by the size of the facility. According to Mary Hall, a granddaughter of Potts, the tavern was furnished with an eight-seater, making it one of the largest in the state.
Like many enterprises, the Civil War ended the days of the Butterfield Stage, shut down the post office, and brought the business to a standstill. Potts had at least eight sons and two daughters and, upon his death in 1879, his descendants continued living in the home until it was sold to the Pope County Historical Foundation in 1970. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and serves as a museum today.
Visiting the home, seeing the surrounding historic buildings, and looking at the artifacts they contain can transport one through so much of our state and national history — pioneer days with Natives, Mexican war, California gold rush, first cattle trail drives, the Butterfield Stage, the Civil War — so much history that comes alive with just one visit.
Potts Tavern is located in Pottsville, just off I-40 east of Russellville.
Curtis Varnell, Ph.D., is a longtime teacher in the area, the author of several books on local history, a regular columnist on that topic and the science and social studies coordinator for the Guy Fenter Education Service Cooperative at Branch. Email him at curtis.varnell@wscstarfish.com.