Mount Comfort is the name used for what was once an active community that is located north and west from Arkansas highways 16 and 112. Now the name only applies to the Presbyterian Church and cemetery located north of the intersection of Rupple Road and Mount Comfort Road.

According to a story in Flashback by Tom Lavender, the community began as early as 1828, about the same time Fayetteville was established. Founding families included the Solomon Tuttle and William D Cunningham families. Cunningham was Tuttle's son in law. Both are listed as major land owners in the land patent records.

At least two contingents of Cherokees who had been removed from the southeast to present day Oklahoma stopped overnight near Mt Comfort. One was mentioned by B B Cannon who lead an early contingent in 1837, and reported on December 25, 1837 "halted a half mile in advance of Mr Cunningham's at a branch, 3 o'c P.M.". This would have been William D Cunningham, who was a prominent land owner at the time. Cannon's party was made up of what is called "treaty party" people and not officially part of the Trail of Tears. A second mention was by Dr. William I I Morrow in his diary "March 21, 1839, passed through Fayetteville and met detachment at Cunningham's, 3 miles from town". Morrow was assigned as doctor to Richard Taylor's contingent of 1,042 Cherokees which left the southeast in September 1838 and arrived at Woodall's in Indian Territory on March 24, 1839 with 942 people. From Mount Comfort they went to Thomason's near old Cincinnati then on to Woodall's. Taylor's group was one of 13 official Trail of Tears contingents. The Cunningham House at Mt. Comfort, which was one of the first brick houses built in the County,possibly before the Cherokee Removal, survived until just recently when it was torn down for expansion of a subdivision. Nothing has been built on the lot as of 2009. It is possible the creek mentioned by Cannon is Clabber Creek just northeast of the present Church.

Bibliography:
150 Years of the Mt Comfort Presbyterian Church by Tom Lavendar Flashback May 1980
Solomon Tuttle of Old Mt Comfort by Julia S Reed published by Washington Co Hist Society
Journal of B B Cannon
Diary of Dr William I I Morrow
Heritage Trail Partners Trail of Tears Research group

Click here for a map to Mt.Comfort