Bentonville, Arkansas, is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers adjacent to the east. The city proper had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth-most populous city in Arkansas. It is one of the four main cities in the three-county Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area, with 546,725 residents in 2020. Bentonville is the birthplace and headquarters
of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. Bentonville is considered to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the state.
First Peoples & First Mentions
The first known use by humans of the area which is now known as Bentonville 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. European 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 European 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.
Explorers, Missions & Colonial Outposts
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. Bentonville was a staging point for the Confederate army prior to the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought about 12 miles northeast of town, and the town saw a brief skirmish just prior to the battle.
From Empire to Nation: Transfers of Rule
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. The first railroad line into the area bypassed Bentonville, instead creating the nearby town of Rogers. So in 1883, a corporation called the Bentonville Railroad Company proceeded to link Rogers with Bentonville, about six miles. That line has changed hands over time, but remains in use. With good transportation available, the area established a vibrant apple industry, with Benton County becoming the leading apple producing county in the nation in 1901.
Rails, Roads & River Landings: Corridors That Sited Bentonville
In the 1920s and 1930s, the county developed a reputation as a leader in poultry production that continued into the World War II years, and which the area still maintains today. The post-war economy helped Bentonville grow, with many new businesses starting. In 1950, Sam Walton bought the Harrison Variety Store on the Bentonville town square. He fully remodeled the building and opened "Walton's 5 and 10 Variety Store" on March 18, 1951. This single store eventually led to the creation of Walmart, the world's largest retailer, which still strongly influences the community today. The late twentieth and early twenty-first century has seen a dramatic reduction in the manufacturing sector in Bentonville, corresponding with an increase in tourism and entertainment focused on the natural setting and outdoor opportunities of the area as well as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which opened in 2011. This has resulted in Bentonville being the fastest growing city in Arkansas, and the larger Northwest Arkansas area one of the fastest growing in the United States.
