The city of Bentonville, Arkansas is located in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, 100 miles east of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and 210 miles south of Kansas City, Missouri.
26 Fun Facts about Bentonville
1. Bentonville is the county seat of Benton County, located in the northwest corner of Arkansas.
2. The area now known as Bentonville was first used as hunting grounds by the Osage Native Americans from Missouri.
3. When settlers arrived and established farms in the area, the town was originally known as “Osage.”
4. The town of Osage was renamed Bentonville in honor of Thomas Hart Benton, a senator from St. Louis, Missouri who strongly supported Arkansas Statehood in 1836.
5. During the U.S. Civil War, Bentonville was a staging area for the Confederate army prior to the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought 12 miles northeast of the town.
6. Although no Civil War battles occurred in Bentonville, many of the town’s buildings were burned during the war by both Confederate and Union armies as well as guerrilla outlaws.
7. Today most of Bentonville’s historic buildings date to the post-war Reconstruction era between 1863 to 1877.
8. Bentonville is the birthplace and world headquarters of Walmart, Inc., the world’s largest retailer, with more than US$500 billion in revenue and 2.3 million employees.
9. In 1950 Sam Walton opened his 5 & 10 store on Bentonville’s town square. Visitors can learn how this humble little store led to the creation the world’s largest retailer in the attached Walmart Museum.
10. Today, Walmart “Home Office” includes more than 20 buildings around 8th Street and Walton Boulevard in Bentonville. In 2017, the company announced its intention to construct a new more centralized headquarters in Bentonville during the next five to seven years.
11. More than 1,100 companies that conduct business with Walmart have established sales offices in or near Bentonville, resulting in a large influx of new residents relocating to the city.
12. Bentonville is the fastest growing city in Arkansas. In 2017, the population of Bentonville was estimated at 49,298 residents, an increase of nearly 30,000 more people living in the city than in 2000.
13. Newcomers to Bentonville have impacted the city’s culture. For example, Bentonville has a cricket league with 18 teams. In 2018, plans for a public cricket pitch were approved for a new city park.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Photo by Charvex
14. On 11/11/11, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in Bentonville. Founded by Walmart heiress Alice Walton, and designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the museum’s glass-and-wood pavilions are nestled around ponds and forest trails on 120 acres.
15. Valued at more than $450 million, the permanent collection at Crystal Bridges includes American art from the Colonial era to the contemporary period.
16. The Constable-Hamilton Portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart in 1797 and The Reader by Mary Cassat in 1877 are two of the museum’s notable works.
17. In January 2014 Crystal Bridges acquired the Bachman–Wilson House created by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Originally built in Millstone, New Jersey in 1954, the house was dismantled piece by piece, relocated to Bentonville and rebuilt at Crystal Bridges.
18. A new contemporary art venue called The Momentary is under development in Bentonville. Scheduled to open in 2020, the project involves re-purposing a 63,000 square-foot former Kraft Foods plant into a multi-disciplinary space for visual and performing arts, culinary experiences, festivals and more.
19. Bentonville contains more than 30 listings on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Col. Samuel W. Peel House, built in 1875, is one example.
20. Residents and visitors to Bentonville are never far from a park or a trail. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department maintains twenty-two parks spread over more than 300 acres, in addition to 50+ miles of trails for walking, running, hiking and bicycling.
21. Mountain bicycling enthusiasts appreciate Bentonville’s 28 miles of mountain bike trails including Slaughter Pen, Park Springs Park trails, and Blowing Springs Trail.
22. Every year during the first week in May, more than 85,000 people attend the Bentonville Film Festival.
23. Kids of all ages like the hands-on activities at the 50,000-square-foot Scott Family Amazeum children’s museum in Bentonville. Exhibits include a pioneer-style cabin and farm, a Hershey’s chocolate learning lab, and a 3M-sponsored “Tinkering Hub” where kids can explore technology and create art.
24. Getting into and out of Bentonville got easier when the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (airport code XNA) opened in 1998. XNA airport is located approximately 12 miles southwest Bentonville’s city center.
American aviation pioneer Iris Louise McPhetridge Thaden
25. Bentonville was the birthplace and hometown of aviation pioneer Louise McPhetridge Thaden. In 1936, Thaden was the first female pilot to win the Bendix Trophy — awarded to the winner of a transcontinental, point-to-point aeronautical race.
Malik Monk 2017 Panini Draft Day
26. Malik Monk, currently playing for the NBA Charlotte Hornets, played basketball for his sophomore through senior years at Bentonville High School.
Learn more about Bentonville with this book:
Bentonville
Have you visited Bentonville, Arkansas? What fun fact can you add to this list?
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