FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS

Fayetteville, located in the Ozark Mountains, has been the seat of county government since formation by the state legislature. The Arkansas Territory was created by an act of Congress, splitting it from the Missouri Territory.  In 1817 land was taken from the Osage Nation and given to part of the Cherokee Nation that had agreed to move westward during the Trail of Tears era.

Although French and early American traders had likely visited the region, the first recorded visit by an Anglo-American was by Frank Pierce, who was hunting buffalo near the West Fork of the White River. William Campbell, in his history of Fayetteville wrote, while Pierce was seeking advantage for a shot, "he discovered a band of Indians stalking the same game. He did not shoot, but spent the night beneath a great elm. Next day he crossed the present town site and striking across to the Illinois River, followed it to its mouth, thence on the Arkansas to points in the east." Nine years later, Pierce returned and settled near where he had spent that uneasy night.

The first settlers were George McGarrah, his wife and their 3 sons, James, John, and William. James Leeper, a Revolutionary War veteran, was the second settler. His son Matthew was appointed receiver of the Land Office by President Andrew Jackson.

Washington County was established in 1828 with the town of Washington Courthouse as the county seat; the name was changed to Fayetteville in 1829 when a post office was established. There was another town with the name Washington and, since 2 of the commissioners were from Fayetteville TN, the name Fayetteville was submitted. 

In the years leading to the Civil War, Fayetteville gained a reputation as the state’s cultural and educational center. The Fayetteville Female Academy, the second school chartered by the state, was incorporated Oct 26, 1836. Sophia Sawyer established the Fayetteville Female Seminary on July 1, 1839 with 14 Cherokee girls as pupils. The next year, she had 51 pupils. Robert Graham started the Arkansas College of Fayetteville in 1850. The first bachelor’s degrees in the state were granted by the college, and, later, the college was given the power to confer doctoral degrees. On December 16, 1858, the state chartered the Fayetteville Female Institute.

In 1858 the Butterfield Overland Mail Company started daily mail runs from St. Louis to San Francisco, with a stop in Fayetteville. Charles Butterfield, son of the owner of the Overland Mail, built a house and moved his family to Fayetteville. The line quit operations at the beginning of the Civil War; the last stage going north within days of the Battle of Wilson Creek near Springfield, MO, Aug 10, 1861.

With the advent of the Civil War, Washington County elected 4 men with Unionist sympathies to represent them at the Arkansas Secession Convention. The convention met on March 5, 1861 and after debates, members voted on March 16 against secession, 39–35. After the bombardment of Fort Sumter, a call was issued to reconvene the convention on May 6. At this meeting, the vote was 65–5 to secede.

For Fayetteville, the start of the Civil War was relatively quiet, until Feb 1862, when General Benjamin McCulloch ordered Confederate forces under his command to burn all the commercial buildings, military stores and vacant houses in Fayetteville on Feb 25. After setting torches to the city, the Confederate troops retreated beyond the Boston Mountains but returned within a week headed north to do battle at Pea Ridge. 

During the war, the town was alternately held by both sides. There was a skirmish between Fayetteville and Cane Hill, to the southwest, Nov 1862. A skirmish at Fayetteville in Aug 1863 was followed by an affair at McGuire’s (a reconnaissance raid) in Oct of the same year. There was an affair at Fayetteville in June 1864, and operations around Fayetteville later that same year. 

The Action at Fayetteville on April 18, 1863, was the only major conflict. Union Colonel Marcus LaRue Harrison made his headquarters in what had been Judge Jonas Tebbetts’s home. Confederate General William Cabell tried to retake the town, with the battle centering on the Tebbetts home. The effort failed. The battle-scarred house, known today as the Headquarters House, still stands as a museum and the headquarters of the Washington County Historical Society.

During the Civil War, the military, north or south, was the only local government. Military farm colonies were established in an effort to help refugees become more self-sufficient and less dependent on the military for sustenance. In 1868, local government was reestablished.

Economic recovery began with the rebuilding of a town in complete ruin. Banking in the state was illegal from 1846 to 1868 due to the failure of the privately owned Real Estate Bank and the state-owned Arkansas State Bank. The Stark Bank opened in Fayetteville in Nov 1872, becoming the William McIlroy Bank on Jan 2, 1876; now Arvest Bank, the state’s oldest bank.

The Morrill Act, passed by Congress during the war, provided land grants to  establish agricultural and mechanical colleges. Upon reentering the Union, Arkansas became eligible for the grants. Fayetteville’s proposal was selected, and Arkansas Industrial University opened on Jan 22, 1872. In 1899, the legislature changed the name to the University of Arkansas. Over the years, there have been attempts to move the school, or parts or it, to a more central location, but all have failed.

July 4, 1882, the first regularly scheduled passenger train of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway arrives in Fayetteville, coming from Pierce City, MO.

Transportation continued to be by wagon, stagecoach, horse, and buggy for the rest of the 19th century, except for rail service furnished primarily by the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Co. The St. Paul branch provided a great amount of hardwood for processing into railroad ties, furniture, handles, and various other wood products. For many years, the railroads were a major boost to the economic growth of Fayetteville.

The town’s economy after the war centered on timber, apples, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables that were processed, packed, and shipped out. Production of wood products and of bricks made from native clay met the growing need for construction of houses and public buildings.

Advances in communication and transportation eased the remoteness of Fayetteville. The first telegraph wire came through Fayetteville in 1860. In 1886, the Washington County Telephone Company was the first telephone exchange. When wireless telegraphing became a reality, the University erected a 125-foot wooden tower for sending coded messages. The university also began broadcasting as KFMQ radio, recognized as one of the oldest radio stations in the world. 

Airplanes used small landing strips until 1929, when land was purchased for $5,000 to build the first permanent airport. From 1942 to 1944, the field was used to train pilots and instructors for World War II. Programs were operated in conjunction with the University. More than 2,400 students in the 305th College Training Detachment received pilot training from March 1, 1943, to June 30, 1944.

By the 1950s poultry would become the main agriculture product with the exception of grapes. Production of most other agriculture products had declined.

Fayetteville was one of the first cities in the South to desegregate its school systems.