For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans.

In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.

In 1859, Chase County was established within the Kansas Territory, which included the land for modern day Cottonwood Falls.

[7] In 1873 the city's French Renaissance style Chase County courthouse was built; at roughly the same time, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway reached Cottonwood Falls area.

Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries the area around the city was mainly divided into farms and cattle ranches.

In 1931, a Transcontinental & Western Air flight crashed ten miles south of Cottonwood Falls near the community of Bazaar, killing all eight on board, including University of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne.

In June and July 1951, due to heavy rains, rivers and streams flooded numerous cities in Kansas, including Cottonwood Falls.

Cottonwood Falls is located at 38°22′5″N 96°32′35″W / 38.36806°N 96.54306°W / 38.36806; -96.54306 (38.368159, -96.542918),[8] in the scenic Flint Hills of the Great Plains.

[9] The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and cool to cold winters.

[10] Cottonwood Falls has five listings on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The 2020 United States census counted 851 people, 318 households, and 179 families in Cottonwood Falls.

[2][34] The community is served by Chase County USD 284 public school district.

[38] In Disney's 1985 film Return to Oz, Doctor J.B. Worley's clinic is set in Chase County near Cottonwood Falls.

[citation needed] In the 2005 film Jarhead, PFC Fergus O'Donnell is from Cottonwood.

The NBC crime drama The Blacklist season 8, episode 13 "Anne" is set and was partially filmed in Cottonwood Falls.

In the Great Railway Adventures book, The Mighty Mogul, Cottonwood Falls serves as a stop for the titular train during its journey to find supplies to build a new schoolhouse.