[4] The fertile soil of the Arkansas River bottom land, in which the present town of Cowlington is located, attracted settlement as soon as the Choctaw tribe migrated to Indian Territory.

A post office named Cowlington, to honor the Cowling family, opened in the community in 1884.

Two floods along the Arkansas River, in 1898 and 1904, devastated the local economy, but the town recovered each time.

[a] Construction of the Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam between 1964 and 1970 coincided with a large increase in Cowlington's population to a high of 751 residents at the 1970 U. S. Census.

Tourism became a significant portion of the local economy, although the population declined again after construction was completed.

[5] Cowlington is located 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam (part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System).

[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2), all land.