Benton County is 886 square miles with a perimeter of 142.25
miles. The
topography is gentle rolling hills (Ozark Mountains). The average annual
rainfall is 40 to 45 inches.
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The
U.S. Census Bureau reports a population of 153,343 in
Benton County in 2000, with an estimated population of 225,504 in 2009 (a 47.1%
change). Bentonville is the county seat and had an estimated population
of 33,744 in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The largest city is Rogers,
with an estimated population in 2008 of 56,726. There are 17 incorporated
cities and towns and 6 unincorporated towns in the County.
The County Judge is the chief executive officer for county
government in Arkansas. In Benton County, the County Judge is elected for a term
of two years. The
Quorum Court is the legislative body of Benton County and is comprised
of 13 members (Justices of the Peace), who also serve a two-year elected term.
The County Judge and Justices of the Peace may be re-elected for additional two-year
terms.
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In beginning of the 1800s early settlers of the region moved to Benton County and surrounding Northwest Arkansas for the clean waters of natural springs spread
throughout the area. One of the first industries to help establish the local economy was apple production. The first nursery in Benton
County was established in 1835 in the town of Bentonville and freighters soon began hauling apples in open wagons to surrounding areas.
The 1850s were prosperous economic years but the
Civil War, town burning, the freeing of slave labor, and the lack of good roads to transport crops resulted in a difficult couple
of decades.
In 1866, a man that many refer to as Benton County's first great entrepreneur,
Peter Van Winkle , returned to the area after the war only to discover that the home and mill he had left in 1862 was destroyed. He had to start over and
soon built the largest steam powered saw mill in the midwest.
This 150-horsepowered engine was state-of-the-art and could simultaneously power a circular saw, gang lathe, two planers, two rip saws, one shingle machine and two molding saws. The
lumber from Peter's mill helped rebuild Northwest Arknasas and surrounding neighboring states as well. Two buildings that still stand today built with lumber
from this mill are the Peel Mansion & Historic Gardens in Bentonville and Old Main on the campus of
the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
The apple industry gained "steam" too when, in 1881, the railroad
entered town. This new way to reach market outlets resulted in a substantial increase in orchard land which grew from a few hundred acres
to an estimated 40,000 acres by 1900 in Benton County based on tree counts. Apple production along with supporting industries such as barrel
making, distilling, packing sheds and ice making once again established the local economy. Other farm crops of the time included barley, buckwheat,
Indian corn, Irish potatoes, oats, rye, sweet potatoes, and tobacco. The census of 1880
reported that Benton County was preeminently first to produced tobacco and for a while grew 10 times more than any other county in the state. Live stock included horses,
mules and asses, working oxen, milch cows, cattle, sheep, and swine. The apple industry saw its peak year of production in 1919 when a record year
of 5 million barrels was reported. In the 1920s apple production began to steadily decline due to numerous reasons such as bad seed mixing, insects
like the coding moth, tree diseases such as
blight, and extreme weather conditions.
In 1915, Jay Fulbright and Richard Clark began working with local farmers to ship poultry (whole chickens referred to as broilers) out of Arkansas.
The completion of Highway 71 in 1926 connected Northwest Arkansas to larger markets like Kansas City. Severe weather in 1927 swayed many area farmers
who had been previously growing apples and other produce to turn to raising chickens. In 1930, Charles George started a hatchery to supply eggs to growing
number of chicken farmers. Within the same time frame, Johnnie B. Hunt
began a business of delivering chickens to various Midwest markets, his company would soon become a leader in the commercial
trucking industry. Benton County found sustained growth
from chicken production in the 1930s, a time when the Depression continued and most of the State's economy additionally suffered through the
Dust Bowl era.
In the late 1930s a man named John Tyson started
hauling broilers to Kansas City and Chicago. Tyson then began raising his own flock, making the chicken feed
and continued delivering them too.
During the 1940s, major food producers like Armour, Cambell's Soup
& Swift established plants in Northwest Arkansas. By the mid 1950s poultry had become the State's second-largest agricultural income - just behind cotton.
At the same time that Hunt and Tyson were building trucking and poultry empires another business-savvy man brought his brilliant ideas to Benton County.
Sam Walton moved to Bentonville in 1950 and on May 9th of that same year he opened Walton's 5 & 10 on the square. Walton would grow
his chain of small variety stores to 15 outlets in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma but his biggest idea was still yet to come.
In 1960, the Army Corps of Engineers began work on
Beaver Dam,
impounding a major part of the White River and
creating
Beaver Lake. Beaver Lake is approximately 50 miles in length and covers approximately 31,700
acres, with about 449 miles of shoreline and an elevation of 1,120 feet. There
are several U.S. Corps of Engineers parks and campgrounds
surrounding Beaver Lake.
The
Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area (formerly
known as the Beaver Lake State Park) is the only state park in the County.
The
Beaver Water District provides an abudant supply of fresh, clean water to Northwest Arkansas. Beaver Lake provides residents an
unlimited amount of water-filled leisure activity, sporting fun and spectacular scenery. Beaver Dam provides the area with
hydroelectric power during high-demand times such as early mornings during winter months and mid-afternoons in the summer.
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In 1962, Sam Walton had studied and worked the dime store business enough to feel that the future was in a new breed of larger discount stores.
July, 6th 1962 marks the date that he and his brother Bud opened a new kind of retail store at the location of 719 West Walnut
Street in Rogers. The name of the store was Wal-Mart Discount City. Instead of locating stores in or around large cities and urban centers
like other large chains, part of Walton's genius concept was to situate his stores in small towns away from the competition. Walton also made a
committment to finding American manufacturers that could make enough merchandise for him to sell their products at competitive prices in all of his stores.
Now, for the first time, the lower and middle class of small towns in the Heartland and South had affordable access to a wide variety of products. Walton's
company would go on to lead the world of retail through a constant investment in cutting edge technology, logistically placed warehouses and an exhaustive
attention to the everchanging process of contemporary demographic trends.
Today, Bentonville based Walmart employs over 2.1 million associates worldwide, and operates more than 8,300 facilites in 15 markets internationally.
The future shows no signs of slowing down for the world's largest listed company by revenue. Overseas sales have grown by 91% between 2005-2010 and the
company has growth expectations that could include hiring an additional 500,000 employees globally by the year 2016.
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With over 300,000 acres of farmland, Benton County continues its agricultural history today by leading
the state in poultry production and rating 3rdnationally for broiler production. Other important crops include hay, pasture
land and livestock.
The largest manufacturing industries are:
Bekaert Corporation (steel tire cord);
Clayton Mark (water system tanks, yard hydrants & water system accessories);
Glad Manufacturing
(Glad plastic bags & plastic cling wrap);
Foam Molding Corporation (structural foam plastics
& enclosures for electronic equipment);
Kraft Foods (bulk cheese),
Preformed Line Products Co. (pole line hardware
for overhead power, splice cases & related products for telecommunications industry,
rubber molding, injection molding, wire drawing & forming);
Rogers Tool Works (carbide compacts for the oil industry,
palletizing dies, blanks & carbide cutting tools, reamers, tool holders with
inserts, drills, carbide wear parts & lathe tools);
Superior Industries (aluminum road wheels);
JB Hunt trucking company;
Gates Corporation (rubber belts, hoses & hydraulics);
Kellogg's Brand Foods;
Johnson & Johnson Health Care Products;
McKee Foods Corporation Little Debbie Snack Cakes;
Proctor & Gamble Consumer Based Products;
and Tyson's, Inc. (poultry processing & distribution centers,
specialty frozen chicken items).
The largest service & retail employer is
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., which has their
world headquarters located in Bentonville. Numerous
Fortune 500 companies (as well as smaller firms) have regional
offices in Benton County to support their accounts at Wal-Mart. Money Magazine ranks Benton County
#15 for jobs in the
nation with a recorded 32.1% job growth from 2000-2009.
Today Benton County has become one of the top places in the country to visit - 'Travel & Leisure' ranks Bentonville as #12 on the
Hottest Travel Destinations in the World thanks in part to
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
City by City History & Information
Avoca |
Bella Vista |
Bentonville |
Bethel Heights |
Cave Springs |
Centerton |
Elm Springs |
Garfield
Gentry |
Gravette |
Highfill |
Lowell |
Pea Ridge |
Rogers |
Siloam Springs |
Springdale
Benton County has seven school districts
(Bentonville, Decatur,Gentry, Gravette, Pea Ridge, Rogers & Siloam Springs) that include 45 public
schools. Find the latest enrollment numbers by clicking here.
The
Northwest Arkansas Community College (two-year college) is located in
Bentonville and John Brown
University (four-year college) is located in Siloam Springs.
Bryan College and the
University of Phoenix
both have a branch campus located in Benton County.
A list of civic organizations may be obtained by contacting
either the
Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce or the
Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce.
Please contact Rosemary Goines, Executive Secretary to Benton
County Judge Robert Clinard, at
rgoines@co.benton.ar.us for additional information.
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