In the 1850s, Kirkbride Potts built Potts Inn, which served as a Butterfield Stage Route stop. When war began in 1861, Potts joined the Pope County Home Guard. Four of his sons served in the Confederate army. Thomas, Joseph, and Richard Potts enlisted in the 1st Arkansas Cavalry Battalion in 1861. Joseph was taken prisoner at Corinth, Mississippi, in 1862. Richard was captured at Dardanelle in 1864. Thomas later joined Gordon’s Arkansas Cavalry and died in Price’s Missouri Raid in 1864. William Potts joined the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry and was killed at Corinth on October 3, 1862.