No Inventory Tax. 1901 W.S. Wood was one of the first residents of what is now Cottonwood. Wood moved to the area from Columbia, Alabama in 1884. Others soon followed Wood into the piney woods and soon the tiny settlement was a bustling community. Cottonwood, which was named after a cottonwood tree which was growing in the community around the turn of the century, was incorporated in 1901.
Locals still speculate about the exact site of the legendary tree.