Benton County National Bank, which cost $5,700 to build, was one of the first banks established in the city. Many of its clientele were apple and fruit producers, as well as operators of storage and canning facilities. There were also many operators of cider plants and evaporators in the county. Workers employed in these facilities and farms were clients of the bank as well. The bank operated successfully until the Great Depression. It merged with another bank in 1930, but the new bank closed in December of that year. In 1934, the city bought the building and converted it to office space. The building became home to the city council and municipal court in the early 1980s. The building was designed by architect Albert Oscar Clark, who moved to Arkansas from St. Louis, Missouri in 1904. Resembling a Roman temple, the building features a portico with polished marble columns topped by Corinthian capitals, a large pediment above the columns, and arched windows. Clark designed other buildings in the county including the Applegate Drugstore, the Bank of Rogers, and the Massey Hotel, which is located just down the street.

The Benton County National Bank was built in 1906 and operated until 1930. It is now the location the city's council chambers and municipal court.

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Erected in 1906, the former Benton County National Bank building has been an important landmark in Bentonville. It operated as bank, was used as office space, and now houses the city's municipal court and council chambers. The bank played an integral role in the city's development in the early 29th century when the economy was primarily agrarian based. The building is also a striking example of Classical Revival architecture.

Benton County National Bank

This drive around and through the heart of Bentonville includes several museums, historical markers, and landmark downtown buildings. The tour begins with museums and markers related to Native American history and then moves to a historic estate that is now home to a botanical garden and museum before making its way to Bentonville's depot, several historic buildings, the Walmart Museum, the County Courthouse, and a few other landmarks. 

Bentonville Arkansas Driving Tour

The museum of Native American History has artifacts and fossils from as early as 12,000 BC. Many arrowheads are on display, made from animal bone, wood, and rocks. The museum also has remains of large extinct animals such as mastodon, great bison, ground sloth, and wooly mammoth.    Furthermore, The Native Americans made traps to make it safer and easier to hunt. One interesting tactic of hunting these huge animals, that the people used was to chase them over a cliff. This way of hunting is known as the Buffalo jump. The natives would ride their horses, herding the animals over a cliff. After the animals were over the cliff some natives stayed near the bottom to finish killing the animals.     As time went on the humans started to adapt more to their environment and their building skills and gathering increased. During the Archaic period the natives began to gather fruit and nuts and they were now settled into villages. The Museum of Native American history has several remains of this time period. For example, they have spear throwers, pestles, banner stones, and axes.  The museum also houses artifacts from the Woodland period, including pottery, pipes, axes, knives, and celt.   In addition, the museum has a large collection of Native pottery and quilts.

The Museum of Native American History has exhibits from 12,000 BC until 1900 AD. The museum was founded by a member of the Cherokee Nation, David Bogle. His very first artifact was an arrowhead and from that, he grew his collection. The museum was founded in 2006; at the time, it was used only to display a few artifacts, but it quickly began to become more popular. Now, the museum houses about 10,000 artifacts, including Native American tools, weapons, pottery, and art.

Museum of Native American History 

The Trail of Tears is a series of paths traveled by Native American tribes during the forced relocation that followed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This loose collection of paths and rivers connect Native homelands, through Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas before concluding in "Indian Territory," today known as Oklahoma. The tribes were forced from their lands and made to travel across the United States to the “Indian Colonization Zone”, or Indian Territory as it was commonly referred to as. The purpose of the Indian Removal Act, which was proposed by Congress and signed into effect by Andrew Jackson, was to remove Indians from Georgia and other Southern states so that white settlers could take possession of these valuable lands. Previous treaties had treated the so-called “Five Civilized Tribes” differently from others with less power and influence, leading members of these tribes to accept treaties and believe that they would be permitted to stay in the South. The differential treatment helped colonization by creating divisions between tribes and preventing pan-Indian unity. However, these "civilized tribes" decision to accept many of the economic and cultural aspects of European civilization did not allow them to be accepted as equals, and once their lands became commercially valued, they shared a similar fate of other tribes. Starting in the 1830s, these five tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Creek) were forced from their lands. The President of The United States during this time was Andrew Jackson, a man who rose to celebrity status following the Battle of New Orleans. Andrew Jackson later solidified his support among many white Americans by attacking Native peoples in Florida which led to the acquisition of that territory in the years that followed. As president, Jackson made the removal of Native Americans a leading priority. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized the United States government to negotiate treaties with Native tribes that signed over their lands in exchange for lands west of the Mississippi River. These lands were previously acquired through the lands of the Louisiana Purchase, and few if any provisions were made for the tribes that already lived in these areas. The Executive branch of the United States government under the direct orders of Andrew Jackson then authorized the use of military force against Native American tribes who were increasingly coerced into signing a series of treaties. This action was followed by the physical removal via rivers and forced marches, a process that lasted about a decade and resulted in many deaths. The Cherokee Nation tried to fight their removal in court. They also hoped Congress would overturn the 1835 treaty by offering evidence that the Native leaders who signed that treaty were not authorized to speak for all Cherokee. These efforts failed, and Cherokee tribal leaders responded by asking for resources to support the removal of their people in hopes of preserving lives.   Some Natives traveled west by walking barefoot, others traveled by wagon and steamboat either in small groups or large caravans. The weather during this time was recorded to be some of Arkansas’ coldest winters and driest summers. Many removal groups had physicians assigned to them but many still died from diseases such as smallpox, cholera, measles, and dysentery. Without exact records, the best historians can offer are estimates of the number who are buried along the Trail of Tears. Between 60,000-100,000 Indians were forced to make the trip, and it is believed that between 10,000-15,000 Natives perished on the journey or closely after arrival in present-day Oklahoma. This movement along various paths was later referred to as the Trail of Tears because of the harsh conditions, lives lost, and emotional turmoil the Native Americans faced. The name, Trail of Tears, refers to the collective removal at this time but is most often associated with the removal of the Cherokee Nations from October 1838 to March 1839. In the Cherokee language, the movement is known as unuahi-duna-dlo-hilu-i-- “the trail where they cried.”

This historical marker is located near the city's Museum of Native American History and serves as a reminder that Bentonville was one of many communities in northern Arkansas near the various paths Native Americans were forced to travel between 1830 and 1840. Together, these paths are known as the Trail of Tears. These trails originate in present-day Georgia and pass through Arkansas before concluding in present-day Oklahoma. Many Native tribes traveled these paths, which all crossed through Arkansas, although the plight of the Cherokee Nation is the best known. Many members of the Cherokee crossed through the area now home to Bentonville. They also passed through Springdale, Arkansas, which is home to a monument. In 1987, the land route of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, previously called the Northern Route of the Cherokee, was documented and recognized by the United States Congress. Like most of the markers on that trail, this sign does not offer interpretation, which is where a digital marker like this might be useful.

The Trail of Tears Historical Marker- Bentonville

Samuel West Peel was born in Independence County on September 13, 1831. His father was a farmer, merchant, and court clerk. Sadly, Peel's mother died when he was for years old. For some time, Peel lived with his grandparents before, it appears, moving back in with his father who married his second wife (they would have eleven children). When he was a teenager, Peel worked in his father's store as a clerk and later served for his father as deputy court clerk. In 1858, he moved to Carrollton, Arkansas to begin a new position as Carroll County clerk. When the Civil War began, Peel joined the Confederate Army and eventually rose to the rank of colonel. He participated in the battles of Little Rock, Wilson's Creek in Missouri, and Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas.After the war, Peel studied law in Carrollton under his brother-in-law. He was admitted into the bar in 1865 and opened a private practice. By this time he was married and moved his family to Bentonville in 1866. In 1873, he was appointed attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit of Arkansas and served in that position until 1876. He ran for Congress in 1880 but lost. However, as noted above, he was elected in 1883 and served until 1893. He represented the the Fourth District in the first term and the Fifth District in the second through fifth terms. While in Congress, he served as the chair of the Committee on Indian Affairs. After losing his reelection bid in 1892, Peel returned to Bentonville and opened a law practice specializing in Indian affairs. In this role he represented the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indian Nations. He retired from law practic in 1890 and then established a bank called the First State Bank of Arkansas, which was the first bank in Bentonville. It is unclear what Peel's role was in the bank or how long he was associated with it. He died on December 18, 1924 and is buried in Bentonville Cemetery.

The Peel Museum and Botanical Garden is a historic estate built in 1875 by Col. Samuel West Peel, who was a prominent businessman, lawyer, and politician. Peel was the first person born in Arkansas to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served from 1883 to 1895. The property features a mansion designed in the Italianate style, a garden, and a historic 1861 cabin that was relocated here. The mansion is considered one the finest examples of Italianate architecture in the region. Interesting features include a three-story tower, four chimneys, pairs of windows set inside arched openings, decorative wooden hoods over the windows on either side of the main entrance, and quoins (stones at the edge of walls). The mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is operated by the Peel Compton Foundation. The site is open to the public for tours and is available to rent for events.

Peel Museum and Botanical Garden

Bentonville Station, which replaced the the previous one (a wood-frame building), is rectangle in shape and features thick walls, a drive-under canopy, and a stucco exterior. The line to Rogers was seven miles long. After World War II, use of the station declined and it was abandoned. It gradually fell into disrepair. A local group called Train Station, Inc. bought and renovated the building in the early 1980s and then leased it to the Bentonville City of Commerce. It appears the Chamber of Commerce remained in the old station for a number of years. The building is now home to the offices of Celebrate Arkansas Magazine

Bentonville Station is a historic train depot built in 1925 to serve a short line that ran to the nearby town of Rogers where it connected to the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, which was called the Frisco Line. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Next to the building is a Frisco Line caboose on display.

Bentonville Station

The Massey is the second hotel to occupy this site. The first, Eagle Hotel, was built in 1840 and was a two-story, wood-frame structure with a veranda. According to local history, during the Civil War on March 6, 1862, a Union general and his officers were having breakfast at the hotel when Confederate troops arrived in the town unexpectedly. The general, his officers, and his force of 600 men retreated quickly. The general returned in 1887 and quipped that he came back to finish his breakfast.Eagle Hotel was torn down in 1908 to make way for the Massey Hotel. Construction began in early 1909 and the formal opening and open house occurred on June 28, 1910. The event was a big occasion for the city and was reported about in the local newspaper. Two-hundred and forty guests were invited to the event and an orchestra performed. Businesses have always been located in the first floor and for a time, the lobby was the ticket office for a train that ran from Bentonvile to the town of Rogers. In 1918, the first public library in the city opened briefly in the east room of the hotel (it did not have enough funds to stay open). The hotel also housed a barber shop, real estate agency, insurance office, gift shop, and bus station. A fire severely damaged the building in 1975. In 1979, three members of the Walton family, which founded the retail giant, Walmart, bought the old hotel and restored it into office space and a new home for the Bentonville Public Library. The library was housed in the building for 27 years. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Situated on the corner of Central Avenue and A Street, the former Massey Hotel is historically significant for its architecture and association with Bentonville's commercial life. It was built in 1910 and is a fine, and rare in Arkansas, example of Renaissance Revival architecture. The three-story building features a one-story porch supported by Romanesque columns, an L-shaped porch, a rusticated granite facade on the first floor, and a decorative parapet with the words "Hotel Massey" in cast stone. Over the years, many businesses have occupied the building. A bicycle shop currently occupies the first floor as of 2021.

Massey Hotel

Company founder Sam Walton was born in 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. After serving in the military during World War II and marrying Helen Robson, he endeavored to make a career in the retail industry. In 1950 the Waltons moved to Bentonville, Arkansas where Sam opened a Ben Franklin franchise store that he named Walton’s 5&amp;10. It proved successful and over the next decade he opened 14 stores. In 1962 Walton cut ties with Ben Franklin and established his own company. His first store under the name Walmart opened that same year in Rogers, Arkansas. The company grew steadily, spreading nationwide by the 1970s. Walton opened the first Sam’s Club in 1983 and the first Walmart Supercenter in 1988. By the 1990s, Walmart had become the nation’s top retailer, and had expanded internationally.Sam Walton based his business model on purchasing goods in bulk quantities in order to sell them at low prices; he also focused on developing stores in small, rural communities, a market that remained untapped by other retailers. The growth of Walmart made Walton a multibillionaire and a household name. He became famous for his frugal lifestyle despite his wealth; he continued to get $5 haircuts, ate inexpensive meals from his local Walmart, and drove an old Ford pickup truck. In 1992, Sam Walton was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush; he passed away from cancer later that year. Today the Waltons are the richest family in the United States, collectively owning 50% of Walmart stock and over $100 billion.In 1990 Walmart opened a museum inside the original Walton’s 5&amp;10 in Bentonville, still home to the company headquarters. Originally it was named the Walmart Visitor Center, but later changed to the Walmart Museum. In 2011 the museum completed a two-year renovation, expanding to include the adjacent historic Terry Block building. The museum is comprised of three sections. There is the Walton’s 5&amp;10 storefront, which includes the original floor and ceiling tiles. It sells a variety of vintage toys, candy, and souvenirs. The museum portion contains several galleries exploring the life of Sam Walton and the origins of Walmart. This includes a collection of Walmart pins; Helen Walton’s wedding dress; Sam Walton’s Medal of Freedom; his 1979 Ford F-150 pickup truck (a replica sits outside the museum); and his entire office, preserved to resemble the way it was when he left it for the last time. At the end of the museum is the Spark Café, which offers various drinks and ice cream flavors.

The Walmart Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas tells the early history of the global business and its founder, Sam Walton. Owned and operated by Walmart, the museum is housed in the original Walton’s 5&amp;10, the store that began the Walton family’s retail empire. It contains multiple exhibits, a vintage toys souvenir shop, and an ice cream café. The museum has had over two million visitors since it first opened in 1990.

The Walmart Museum

Northwest Arkansas, including Bentonville and Benton County, carry a complicated Civil War legacy. Like many Upper South and Border States in 1861, Arkansas grappled with the possibility of secession. Initially remaining loyal to the United States in the crisis's early days, in the wake of Fort Sumter and President Lincoln's call for arms, Arkansas seceded in May. Five delegates voted against the secession ordinance; four of whom came from Northwest or North-Central Arkansas. Four were convinced to change their votes in favor; Isaac Murphy of Madison County (immediately east of Benton County) refused, becoming the lone dissenter. As the secession vote suggests, there was consdierably dissent in Northwest Arkansas during the Civil War. A majority of the population supported the Confederacy, and approximately 1,000 men from Benton County enlisted in the Confederate army. Yet Northwest Arkansas was also home to a strong Unionist minority throughout the war. A number of Northwest Arkansans served in the United States army, notably in the First Arkansas Cavalry (U.S.). During the war, several battles occurred in Benton County, most prominently the 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge. Union and Confederate armies exchanged control of the region several times. The area suffered serious economic devastation, and Bentonville itself was burned during the war. At the turn of the century, the local James H. Berry Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) sought to memorialize Benton County's Confederate past. This local initiative fit into a much larger movement across the South by the UDC, United Confederate Veterans (UCV), and other groups to vindicate the Confederacy. Between 1899 and 1915, 11 other Confederate monuments were raised by the Arkansas UDC alone. These monuments in Arkansas and the South often conveyed Lost Cause beliefs that minimized Confederate defeat and slavery's role in sparking the Civil War. The monument was built at a cost of $2,500, raised by local banker A.J. Bates and prominent local citizen James H. Berry. James Berry served in the Confederate army, and postwar enjoyed a substantial political career, including a term as governor and as a U.S. Senator. A member of the UCV, Berry was proud of his Confederate service and supported efforts to memorialize the Confederacy. The monument depicts a Confederate soldier standing vigil atop a granite base, a common style among Civil War statues, and bears inscriptions on each of its four sides. The dedication took place on August 8, 1908. Thousands were in attendance, including hundreds of Confederate veterans. Following a parade featuring floats through downtown Bentonville, various officials spoke in front of the Confederate flag draped monument. The keynote speech was given by Clifton R. Breckenridge (the son of former U.S. Vice President and Confederate General John C. Breckenridge). Echoing the Lost Cause sentiments of the era, Breckenridge proclaimed the South "had a perfect and constitutional right to secede" and determined the Confederacy fought to protect "the faithful administration of [the Constitution's] powers upon the sacred principal, not of privilege, but of equal rights."[1] Breckenridge's comments portray the Confederacy as fighting for abstract liberties, rather than slavery. In 1914, following James Berry's death, a bronze plaque was added to the monument in his honor. The statue was rededicated in 1996. In recent years, the statue's legacy has come under contest. In the wake of the "Unite the Right" rally of white supremacists and neo-Confederates in August 2017 in Virginia, nearly 160 people gathered in protest of Bentonville's Confederate monument in September. The monument was also vandalized several times. On June 1, 2020, following the death of George Floyd and nationwide protests over systemic racism (many of which targeted Confederate monuments), the statue stood amidst a large "Justice for George Floyd" protest downtown which turned violent. The same day, the Arkansas Division of the UDC agreed to relocate the monument to James H. Berry Park (a private park where Berry is buried). The monument was removed on September 2, 2020.

In 1908, the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated this monument to local Confederate veterans. During the Civil War, Arkansas joined the Confederacy following the seizure of Fort Sumter, although Northwest Arkansas contained a significant Unionist sentiment. Throughout the war, the region suffered immensely, and Bentonville itself was burned. The dedication ceremony was imbued with Lost Cause ideology, minimizing slavery's role in causing the Civil War along with the Unionist history of this region. In recent years, the monument has come under scrutiny, featuring protests and calls for its relocation. In June 2020, the City of Bentonville determined to relocate the monument to a nearby private park, and it was removed in September.

Bentonville Confederate Monument

The first courthouse in Benton County was a log cabin erected in 1837 that was located across from the northern side of the Bentoville City Square. It was meant to be temporary until a new one was built. This second courthouse, a two-story brick building, was constructed in 1840 and located in the center of the square. Towards the end of the Civil War it burned down in a fire and a temporary wood-frame courthouse was soon built near the northeast corner of the square. This one was used until 1874 when a three-story Italianate structure was built. It served the county until the current courthouse was erected in 1928.

The Benton County Courthouse was built in 1928 and continues to serve as the seat of county government. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is a fine example of Classical Revival architecture and is situated prominently across the street from the Bentonville City Square. Architect Albert O. Frank designed it as well as several other buildings in the city and state.

Benton County Courthouse 

Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005
by the Walton Family Foundation as a nonprofit charitable organization for all
to enjoy and is known as the Art Museum Walmart Money Built. Philanthropist and
arts patron Alice Walton chairs the Museum’s board of directors. The building
was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie and opened to the public
on November 11, 2011.

Crystal Bridges, located in the
middle of the Ozarks, is surrounded by 120 acres of forests, garden sculpture
and walking trails and is named for Crystal Creek, which feed the ponds around
the museum. Consisting of eight buildings nestled in a wooded area across a
flowing creek, is a work of art in itself. A series of pavilions nestled around
two spring-fed ponds house galleries, meeting and classroom spaces, and a
large, glass-enclosed gathering hall. Guest amenities include a restaurant on a
glass-enclosed bridge overlooking the ponds, a Museum Store designed by
architect Marlon Blackwell, and a library featuring more than 50,000 volumes of
art reference material. Sculpture and walking trails link the Museum's 120-acre
park to downtown Bentonville, Arkansas.

Crystal Bridges’ permanent
collection spans five centuries of American masterworks ranging from the
Colonial era to the current day. Included within the collection are iconic
images such as Asher B. Durand’s Kindred Spirits, Norman Rockwell’s&nbsp; Rosie the Riveter, and Andy Warhol’s
Coca-Cola [3]— each reflecting a distinct moment in American artistic
evolution—as well as major works by modern and contemporary American artists,
including Georgia O’Keeffe, John Baldessari, and James Turrell. The permanent
collection, which continues to grow through a strategic acquisition plan, is on
view year-round and is enhanced by an array of temporary exhibitions.

Crystal Bridges provides year-round
programming for all ages, including lectures, performances, classes, and
continuing education for K-12 teachers. More than 45,000 schoolchildren visit
the Museum each year as part of the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit
Program, which offers schools reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses
associated with a school field trip, including transportation costs, substitute
teachers, and lunch. A new initiative to develop high-quality distance learning
opportunities for students and teachers is currently under way.

An award-winning app, available free
for both Apple and Android devices, features audio tours of current and past
exhibitions, and many of the Museum’s lectures and gallery talks are available
in Crystal Bridges’ iTunes U site.

The mission of Crystal Bridges
Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a
setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature.

There is NO COST to view the
Museum’s permanent collection, which is on view year- round. General admission
to Crystal Bridges is sponsored by Walmart.

Located in the heart of the country in Bentonville, Arkansas, Crystal Bridges explores the unfolding history of America by collecting and exhibiting outstanding works of art that illuminate our artistic heritage and enrich our understanding and appreciation of our nation and ourselves.

With 120 acres of native Ozark forest, Crystal Bridges’ grounds invite visitors to enjoy the natural environment as a continuation of their museum experience. The Museum’s distinctive architecture immerses visitors in the landscape, while three miles of nature trails encourage exploration and reflection.

Bentonville Arkansas Driving Tour

Benton County National Bank

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

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