 Some of the older citizens say it was named after the US 42nd Infantry Division, known as the "Rainbow Division".As early as 1818, families from the Carolinas and Georgia began to migrate to the area and homestead land near the Coosa River.Hernando de Soto's troops were the first visitors to the area in 1540, and today a bridge stands where the Pensacola Trading Path crossed the Coosa River.