Colt

Colt is a town in St. Francis County between Crowley’s Ridge and the L’Anguille River, about 50 miles south of Jonesboro and 45 miles west of West Memphis. The first documented settlers arrived in the area early in the 19th century, and the settlement’s location on the old Military Road made it a stopping point for those moving west. When the Iron Mountain railroad came through in the early 1880s, Colt Station became a stop between Memphis, Tennessee, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. The station took its name from a railroad contractor. It incorporated in 1916.

William Stone, whose family became prominent business and political leaders in Colt, built his house there in 1884. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the best example in Colt of a Plain Traditional house, with applied Colonial Revival and Folk Victorian detail. Local lore has it that the home was a Sears & Roebuck pre-fabricated house but the claim has never been documented. Today it holds displays on the history of northern St. Francis County and is open by appointment. Colt Pioneer Days is held annually in September at the historic William Stone House, sponsored by the Colt Community Development Corporation.

Colt is widely known as the birthplace of gospel, blues and country singer Charlie Rich, nicknamed the “Silver Fox.” Rich’s two blockbuster hits, “Behind Closed Doors,” and “The Most Beautiful Girl” earned him a Grammy and the Country Music Association’s 1973 Male Vocalist of the Year.

Colt remains an agricultural community, including serving as the location for a University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.