Baxter County is located in the north central section of Arkansas and is approximately 600 square miles. Baxter County has elevations ranging from 800 to 1,400 feet. Baxter County was formed on March 24, 1873, from parts of Fulton, Izard, Marion and Searcy Counties and was named for Elisha Baxter, then the Governor of Arkansas. Mountain Home is the County seat.

Baxter County claims the oldest two-story log structure in the state and it was the first courthouse in the state of Arkansas. This building, called the Wolf House, has been restored and is on the National Register of Historic places. The Wolf House still sits on its original site between the White River and the mouth of the North Fork River.

The County has approximately 210 miles of state maintained highways and has approximately 900 miles of locally maintained roads. Baxter County was the 12th fastest-growing county in the state, according to the latest census, increasing from 31,186 in 1990 to 38,386 in 2000, a 23.1 percent change. Mountain Home, the County Seat, had a population of 11,012 in 2000. Other incorporated areas of the County in order by population are Gassville (1,706), Cotter (862), Lakeview (763), Norfork (484), Salesville (437), Briarcliff (240), and Big Flat (104).

The county has two hydroelectric dams operated by the Corps of Engineers. Norfork Dam is located on the North Fork River at river mile 4.8, four miles northeast of Norfork. Bull Shoals Dam is located on the White River at the river mile 418.6 in Baxter and Marion counties, seven miles north of Cotter and 10 miles west of Mountain Home.