Bentonville, Arkansas

Bentonville, Arkansas
City
Clockwise, from top: Downtown Bentonville, Benton County Courthouse, Sam Walton's original Walton's Five and Dime store, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Confederate Soldier Monument
Location in Benton County and the state of Arkansas
Coordinates: 36°22′0″N 94°12′48″W / 36.36667°N 94.21333°W / 36.36667; -94.21333Coordinates: 36°22′0″N 94°12′48″W / 36.36667°N 94.21333°W / 36.36667; -94.21333
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
County	Benton
Incorporated	April 3, 1873
Named for	Thomas Hart Benton
Government
• Mayor	Bob McCaslin[1]
Area
• Total	31.5 sq mi (81.6 km2)
• Land	31.3 sq mi (81.0 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation	1,296 ft (395 m)
Population (2012 census estimate)
• Total	38,284
• Density	1,224/sq mi (472.4/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	72712, 72716
Area code(s)	479
FIPS code	05-05320
GNIS feature ID	0076305
Website	www.bentonvillear.com

Bentonville is the county seat of Benton County, and the tenth-largest city in Arkansas.^[2] The city is centrally located in the county, with Rogers adjacent to the east, and is the home of Walmart, the world's largest retailer.^[3] Bentonville was originally named Osage after the Osage Indians who hunted in the area when white settlers first moved to the area in 1837.^[4] The community was renamed Bentonville after Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri in 1841 and was first incorporated on April 3, 1873.^[4][5] The four-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 109th in terms of population in the United States with 463,204 in 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau. The city itself had a population of 35,301 at the 2010 Census,^[6] with an estimated population of 38,284 in 2012.^[7]

Bentonville is the location of the Walmart Home Office, and the retailer is very visible in the city. The Walmart Visitor Center is located on the Bentonville town square in Sam Walton's original Walton's Five and Dime.^[8] The home office includes fifteen buildings along Walton Boulevard in the west part of town. Just north of downtown Bentonville is Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded by Alice Walton in 2011. The museum contains many masterpieces from all eras of American art, including many works from Walton's private collection.^[9] Across the square from the Walmart Visitor Center is the Benton County Courthouse, the center of the county government. Bentonville High School is located just west of Interstate 540/US Route 71 in central Bentonville.

History

Early history

The area now known as Bentonville's first known use by humans was as hunting grounds by the Osage Nation who lived in Missouri. The Osage would leave their settlements to hunt in present-day Benton County for months at a time before returning to their families. White settlers first inhabited the area around 1837 and named their settlement "Osage". By this time, the Osage had ceased using the area for hunting, and the white settlers began to establish farms. Upon establishment of Benton County on September 30, 1836, Osage was deemed a suitable site for the county seat, and the town square was established as the home of county government the following year. Osage was renamed Bentonville in honor of Thomas Hart Benton, a senator from Missouri who strongly supported Arkansas statehood.^[10] The Osage post office was established on December 31, 1836, and renamed Bentonville on January 3, 1843.^[11]

Early statehood and Civil War

The Terry Block Building is the southwest corner of the Bentonville Town Square. Built in 1888, the building now houses the Walmart Visitor Center, adjacent to the original Walton's Five and Dime.

Two years after Arkansas received statehood in 1836, thousands of Cherokee people from Georgia passed through Benton County as part of the Trail of Tears route to the Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. Although no Civil War battles were fought inside Bentonville, the city was occupied by both armies and saw almost all of its buildings burned, either by opposing armies or guerrilla outlaws. Bentonville was a staging point for the Confederate army prior to the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought about 12 miles (19 km) northeast of town, and the town saw a brief skirmish just prior to the battle. The city began to rebuild about a decade after incorporation on April 3, 1873, with many of these Reconstruction Era buildings today serving as the oldest structures in Bentonville.

After the war, the area established a vibrant apple industry, with Benton County becoming the leading apple producing county in the nation in 1901. In the 1920s and 1930s the county developed a reputation as a leader in poultry production, which the area still maintains today.^[12]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.5 square miles (81.6 km²), of which 31.3 square miles (81.0 km²) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.5 km²), or 0.67%, is water.^[6]

Metropolitan area

The Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area consists of three Arkansas counties: Benton, Madison, and Washington, and McDonald County, Missouri. The area had a population of 347,045 at the 2000 census which had increased to 463,204 by the 2010 Census (an increase of 33.47 per cent). The Metropolitan Statistical Area does not consist of the usual principal-city-with-suburbs morphology; instead Bentonville is bordered to the east by Rogers, the north by Bella Vista, and the west by Centerton. The Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is located to the southwest of Bentonville and is used to connect all of the northwest Arkansas region to the rest of the nation.

Climate

Bentonville lies in the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa) with influence from the humid continental climate type. Bentonville experiences all four seasons and does receive cold air masses from the north, however some of the Arctic masses are blocked by the higher elevations of the Ozarks. July is the hottest month of the year, with an average high of 89 °F (32 °C) and an average low of 66 °F (19 °C). Temperatures above 100 °F (37.8 °C) are uncommon. January is the coldest month with an average high of 46 °F (8 °C) and an average low of 24 °F (−4 °C). The city's highest temperature was 114 °F (45.6 °C), recorded in 1954. The lowest temperature recorded was −16 °F (−26.7 °C), in 1996.

Demographics

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

As of 2010 Bentonville had a population of 35,301. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 77.0% non-Hispanic white, 2.4% non-Hispanic black, 1.2% Native American, 5.8% Asian Indian, 2.8% other Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 3.9% from some other race and 2.5% from two or more races. 8.7% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[16]

As of the census^[17] of 2000, there were 19,730 people, 7,458 households, and 5,265 families residing in the city. The city grew substantially in the 1990s; the 1990 population was 11,257 and the city is expected to reach 50,000 people by the year 2030. According to the US Census, Bentonville and surrounding communities in Benton County is second in growth for Arkansas and among the 100 fastest growing counties in the United States.^[18]

The population density was 928.9 people per square mile (358.7/km²). There were 7,924 housing units at an average density of 373.1 per square mile (144.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.92% White, 0.88% Black or African American, 1.33% Native American, 2.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.68% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. 6.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The 2005 Special Census reported 24,837 Whites/non-Hispanic whites (86.8%), 2,428 Hispanics of any race (8.5%), 1,135 Asians (4.0%), and 510 Blacks/African Americans 1.8%. Bentonville is home to a significant large Hispanic immigrant community, consisting of Mexicans and nationalities from Central America such as El Salvador and Honduras, came to find blue-collar jobs in the area's booming economy during the 1990s and 2000s.

There were 7,458 households out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.11.

Bentonville is a popular real estate destination for senior citizens and families with young children for quite some time, due to relative affordability, lower crime rates for a city its size and a social conservative culture known in Northwest Arkansas. Bentonville and Benton County is said to have the most registered Republican voters of the state.^{[citation needed]}

In the city the population was spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,936, and the median income for a family was $46,558. Males had a median income of $31,816 versus $23,761 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,831. 10.3% of the population and 7.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 13.7% are under the age of 18 and 10.9% are 65 or older.

Education

Elementary and secondary education

Public schools

Public elementary and secondary education is provided by Bentonville Public Schools leading to graduation at Bentonville High School.

Private schools

Bentonville Adventist School, associated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, provides education services for kindergarten through eighth grade.

Postsecondary education

Bentonville is home to the Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC), a public two-year college that provides students undergraduate, vocational, career and technical education courses.

Public library

The Bentonville Public Library System consists of one central library, located at 405 S. Main Street, that provides residents with access to print books, publications and multimedia content.

Points of interest

Sam Walton's original Walton's Five and Dime, now the Walmart Visitor's Center on Bentonville town square

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a $450,000,000 museum of American Art designed by architect Moshe Safdie located within walking distance of downtown Bentonville.^[19]

Other points of interest include:

• Bentonville Public Library
• Bentonville Train Station
• Museum of Native American History

In 2009, Bentonville ranked No. 13 on Newsmax magazine's list of the "Top 25 Most Uniquely American Cities and Towns," a piece written by current CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg. In determining his ranking, Greenberg cited the then-upcoming Crystal Bridges Museum, as well as sites such as Compton Gardens and the Civil War-era Peel Mansion Museum & Heritage Gardens.^[20]

Notable people

• James Henderson Berry, U.S. senator and 14th governor of Arkansas
• Jim Dotson, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Bentonville
• Dan Douglas, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Bentonville
• Bart Hester, Arkansas state senator from Benton County; real estate businessman in Bentonville; resident of Cave Springs
• Dan Folger, singer
• Louise Thaden, aviation pioneer, holder of numerous aviation records, and the first woman to win the Bendix Trophy
• Karri Turner, actress on the adventure/drama television show JAG
• Jim Walton, the 20th-richest person in the world^[21]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bentonville, Arkansas.

• City of Bentonville official website
• History of Bentonville's Jewish community (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)
• Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: Bentonville (Benton County)
• Bentonville Arkansas History Archive
• Heart of America Artists Rendezvous, yearly art event in Bentonville
• "Redistricting likely ahead for Arkansas", USA Today, Feb. 21, 2011

v t e Municipalities and communities of Benton County, Arkansas, United States County seat: Bentonville Cities Bella Vista Bentonville Bethel Heights Cave Springs Centerton Decatur Elm Springs‡ Gentry Gravette Little Flock Lowell Pea Ridge Rogers Siloam Springs Springdale‡ Sulphur Springs Towns Avoca Garfield Gateway Highfill Springtown Townships 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 CDPs Cherokee City Hiwasse Lost Bridge Village Maysville Prairie Creek Other communities Accident Apple Spur Beacon Addition Beaty Beaver Shores Blackjack Corner Bland Bloomfield Brightwater Clantonville Clear Point Creech Cross Hollow Dawn Hill Dug Hill Eagle Corner Elkhorn Tavern Fairmount Falling Springs Frisco Gallatin Glade Green Acres Healing Springs Hickory Creek Hico Hill Top Ionia Lake Frances Lakeland Hills Larue Leetown Logan Martin Mason Valley Miller Monte Ne Nebo Norwood Oak Grove Osage Mills Pedro Pine Top Pleasant Hill Pleasant Ridge Pleasure Heights Rago Rambo Riveria Rivercliff Estates Robinson Rocky Comfort Seba Silent Grove Spring Creek Tanglewood Twin Springs Vaughn Vista Shores Walnut Hill War Eagle West Point Ghost town Colville Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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