Baxter County, Arkansas

Baxter County is a county in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Created as Arkansas's 66th county on March 24, 1873, the county has eight incorporated municipalities, including Mountain Home, its largest city and county seat. The county is named for Elisha Baxter, the tenth governor of Arkansas. It is coterminal with the Mountain Home Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The county is located in a steep section of the Ozark Mountains sometimes known as the Twin Lakes Area because it is bordered by two of Arkansas's largest lakes, Bull Shoals Lake and Norfork Lake. On its southern border are the White River, Norfork Tailwater and the Buffalo National River. Occupying 587 square miles (170,000 ha), the county's population was 41,627 as of the 2020 Census, ranking Baxter the 66th largest and 16th most populous of the 75 counties in Arkansas. The county seat is Mountain Home. The county contains five protected areas, including parts of the Buffalo National River, Ozark National Forest, Bull Shoals-White River State Park, and two Wildlife Management Areas. The natural environment of nearby Norfork and Bull Shoals lakes and the surrounding countryside has attracted tourists from around the country for many years. Educational institutions have also played a role in the life of the community. Other historical features such as the Jacob Wolf House and Cold Water School preserve the history and culture of Baxter County.

Baxter County is served by three public school districts: Mountain Home, Cotter, and Norfork, and contains one public community college: Arkansas State University–Mountain Home (ASUMH). Baxter Health serves as a healthcare hub for the region. Although no Interstate highways serve Baxter County, the county has access to two concurrent United States highways: U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) and US 412, and thirteen Arkansas state highways. Baxter County is served by two public use airports: Baxter County Airport and Gaston's White River Resort Airstrip, two electric service providers, and fifteen public water systems providing potable water to customers in the county.

Baxter County was created by the 19th Arkansas General Assembly on March 24, 1873, from parts of Fulton, Izard, Marion, and Searcy counties. It was named for Elisha Baxter, who was governor of Arkansas at the time. The small community of Mountain Home was named temporary county seat; and was later named permanent county seat.

In 1945, Baxter County voted to take the county "dry"—liquor sales prohibited—in 1945 by a vote of 548 to 432. The liquor sales prohibition was overturned in 1978 in the heaviest voter turnout in county history to that date, with 6,175 for the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors and 5,991 against. A narrow margin of 184 votes took the county "wet".

Baxter County is located within the Salem Plateau, a subregion of the Ozark Mountains. Land near Bull Shoals Lake, Norfork Lake, and along the White River are within the White River Hills subregion, known for steep, rocky soils, spring-fed mountain streams, and oak-hickory-pine forest. Eastern Baxter County and a small area around Mountain Home are within the Central Plateau subregion, known for comparatively flatter terrain more suited for hayfields, pastures, and housing, as well as karst.

The county has a total area of 586.74 square miles (1,519.6 km²), of which 554.36 square miles (1,435.8 km²) is land and 32.38 square miles (83.9 km²) (5.5%) is water.

The county is located approximately 110 miles (180 km) southeast of Springfield, Missouri, 152 miles (245 km) north of Little Rock, and 246 miles (396 km) southwest of St. Louis, Missouri. Baxter County is surrounded by sparsely populated Ozark counties on all sides: Fulton County to the east, Izard County to the southeast, Stone County to the south, Searcy County to the southwest, Marion County to the west, and Ozark County, Missouri to the north.