History

In 1870, land developer Alexander A. Arthur

Alexander Arthur

Alexander Alan Arthur was a Scottish-born engineer and entrepreneur active primarily in the southeastern United States in the latter half of the 19th century...

 moved to the area from Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Canada. He laid out a town, based on consolidated land parcels. In 1876 the area was called Butcher Springs and with the creation of a post office the town became known as Arthur in 1890. Alexander Arthur was key in having a railroad from Knoxville to Middlesboro, Kentucky be installed through Arthur, allowing his namesake to develop into a railroad town. The town shipped coal, ore and other minerals.