Scotia was selected as the county seat of Pope County in 1830, the year after the county was created. When Johnson County was formed in 1833, Pope County’s seat was moved to Dwight Mission, then the next year to Morristown on the north side of the Arkansas River opposite Dardanelle Rock. In 1841 the county seat was moved to Dover, where it remained until 1887, when it was moved to Russellville. The county was named in honor of Territorial Governor John Pope.