The story
History
Settlement through Antebellum period
Following the Louisiana Purchase, the first permanent settlers in what became Fayetteville were George McGarrah and his sons James, John, and William. Around 1828, they settled near Big Spring, close to the modern intersection of Spring and Willow Streets, in an area later known as the Masonic Addition at the base of Mount Sequoyah. That same year, Washington County was created from Lovely County, which had existed for only one year, and the settlement of Washington Courthouse was selected as the county seat. The Washington Courthouse was completed in 1829 and also housed the post office.
Later in 1829, Postmaster General William T. Barry ordered the name changed to Fayetteville to avoid confusion with Washington in Hempstead County. Two commissioners responsible for locating the county seat were from Fayetteville, Tennessee, itself named after Fayetteville, North Carolina, which had been named in honor of General Lafayette for his role in the American Revolutionary War.
James Leeper, a Revolutionary War veteran, was the second settler. His son Matthew Leeper later served as receiver of the federal Land Office, appointed by President Andrew Jackson. The Leeper family owned extensive land holdings south of Mount Sequoyah to the White River. Through marriage, the Leeper and Washington families became closely linked to David Walker, later Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, who in 1832 built a double log cabin on what became Center Street.
In 1835, President Jackson issued a patent for 160 acres forming the original settlement. Fayetteville was incorporated as a town on November 3, 1836. P. V. Rhea served as president of the town trustees. That same year, the Fayetteville Female Academy was incorporated, becoming the second school chartered in Arkansas. The town's first newspaper, The Fayetteville Witness, began publication in 1840.
Archibald Yell built an estate known as Waxhaw on the outskirts of town in the early 1830s, naming it after his childhood home region in the Carolinas. Yell later became the second governor of Arkansas and served as a U.S. representative. When Arkansas achieved statehood in 1836, Fayetteville and Washington County continued to develop as a regional political and educational center.
John Nye opened the first store in Fayetteville in a building constructed by James Holmsley. Early hotels included the Burnside House and the Onstott House. In 1856, Austrian immigrant Ferdinand Zellner composed "Fayetteville Polka", the first known piece of sheet music published by an Arkansan. On July 7, 1856, two enslaved men acquitted of murdering enslaver James Boone were lynched by a mob. A historical marker commemorating the event was installed in Oaks Cemetery in 2021.
In 1859, Fayetteville obtained a city charter from the Arkansas legislature. J. W. Walker became the first mayor under this charter. The telegraph reached Fayetteville in 1860, strung along the Military Road from St. Louis, Missouri to Little Rock, Arkansas.
Civil War and Reconstruction
On March 5, 1861, Washington County delegates, including three from Fayetteville, attended the Arkansas Secession Convention, electing Judge David Walker as chairman. The convention initially voted against secession on March 16. After the attack on Fort Sumter, the convention reconvened on May 6, 1861, and voted to secede.
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Union General Samuel Ryan Curtis occupied Fayetteville on February 18, 1862. Confederate forces retreating south destroyed their arsenal and much of the town to prevent its capture. Fayetteville was subsequently occupied intermittently by both Union and Confederate forces.
The Battle of Pea Ridge occurred northeast of Fayetteville in March 1862. Wounded soldiers from the Battle of Prairie Grove were treated in the town in December 1862. The Action at Fayetteville on April 18, 1863, was the only major engagement in the town itself. Confederate General William L. Cabell attempted to retake Fayetteville from Union forces under Colonel Marcus LaRue Harrison, whose headquarters were located in the former home of Judge Jonas Tebbetts at College Avenue and Dickson Street. The Union forces successfully repelled the attack.
During the war, the municipal government was suspended. Fayetteville was occupied for extended periods by Union troops, including the First Arkansas Union Cavalry, composed largely of men from northwest Arkansas. Union forces repelled a Confederate attack in October 1864. After the war, the federal government established the Fayetteville National Cemetery in 1867, followed by the creation of the Fayetteville Confederate Cemetery in 1873.
Local government was restored in 1867, with M. L. Harrison elected mayor. Dissatisfaction with the 1859 charter led to its dissolution, and on August 24, 1870, a new municipal government was established under general state law.
Post-Reconstruction through the Gilded Age
Newspapers expanded during Reconstruction. The Arkansan was founded in 1859, and the Fayetteville Weekly Democrat began publication in 1868, later becoming the Northwest Arkansas Times. The Fayetteville School District was established on March 20, 1871, as Arkansas's first independent school district.
Banking, illegal in Arkansas from 1846 to 1868 due to earlier financial crises, resumed with the opening of the Stark Bank in 1872. It became the William McIlroy Bank in 1876 and survives as Arvest Bank.
The Morrill Act enabled the founding of Arkansas Industrial University in Fayetteville, which opened on January 22, 1872. In 1899, it was renamed the University of Arkansas. Railroads, including the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, became central to Fayetteville's economic growth, facilitating the shipment of timber, agricultural products, and manufactured goods.
Early Twentieth Century
By the early twentieth century, Fayetteville experienced improvements in transportation, communications, and infrastructure. The first telephone exchange opened in 1886. Radio broadcasting began in 1924 from the university under the call sign KFMQ, later KUOA.
Automobiles gradually replaced rail and horse-drawn transport. Street paving began in 1917. Fayetteville contributed personnel to the Spanish-American War, the Mexican border conflict, and World War I. During the war, the University of Arkansas served as a training site for military units.
World War II and post-war
A permanent airport was established in 1929 and used for pilot training during World War II. Poultry production became the dominant agricultural industry by the mid-twentieth century. Fayetteville emerged as a regional cultural center, aided by university growth and venues such as the Rockwood Club.
In 1954, following Brown v. Board of Education, Fayetteville became one of the first cities in the South to integrate its public schools, shortly after Charleston, Arkansas.
Modern Era
From the late twentieth century onward, Fayetteville diversified its economy through industrial development, finance, education, and services. In 1990, a new Washington County Courthouse was completed. The city continued to expand educational and civic institutions while maintaining its role as a cultural and economic hub of northwest Arkansas.
In 2014, the Fayetteville City Council adopted a civil rights ordinance addressing discrimination based on sexual orientation. The ordinance was repealed by voters later that year. A revised ordinance with broader religious exemptions was approved by voters on September 8, 2015.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 93,949 people, 39,374 households, and 16,703 families residing in the city.
The median age was 27.9 years. 17.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 10.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.0 males age 18 and over.
97.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 39,374 households in Fayetteville, of which 23.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.3% were married-couple households, 27.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 43,795 housing units, of which 10.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.7%.
2010 census
In the 2010 census, Fayetteville had a population of 73,580 and grew by 26.8 percent from the year 2000.
As of the census of 2010, there were 73,580 people, 33,661 households, and 14,574 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,333.0 inhabitants per square mile (514.7/km2). There were 38,281 housing units at an average density of 693.5 per square mile (267.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 89.8% White, 6.0% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.8% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. 6.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Fayetteville was the third best educated city in Arkansas (after Maumelle) in the 2010 Census, proportionately, with 40.5% of adults age 25 or older holding an associate degree or higher, and 24.6% of adults possessing a bachelor's degree or higher. There were 33,661 households, out of which 19.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.4% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 58.7% were non-families. 45.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 16.9% under the age of 18, 23.6% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,393, and the median income for a family was $62,258. Males had a median income of $42,004 versus $29,373 for females, indicating a huge income disparity. The per capita income for the city was $26,267. 43.7% of the population and 29.9% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 19.0% of those under the age of 18 and 17.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
69.6% of Fayetteville's population describes themselves as religious, above the national average of 48.34%. 50.8% of people in Fayetteville who describe themselves as having a religion are Baptist (37.22% of the city's total population). 15.5% of people holding a religion are Catholic (7.7% of the city's total population). There are also higher proportions of Methodists and Pentecostals above the national average.
Parks and recreation
The Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department maintains 70 parks whose total land area makes up 3,129 acres (1,266 ha). The National Wildlife Federation has listed many parks and trails in Fayetteville as Certified Wildlife Habitats, which provide food, water, shelter, and a nurturing environment for young wildlife. A favorite park in Fayetteville is Wilson Park, which anchors the Wilson Park Historic District. The park was the city's first, and today contains a swimming pool, two playgrounds, a baseball field, picnic areas, and a 1981 castle in addition to courts for volleyball, basketball and tennis. The National Register of Historic Places-listed historic district encompasses 47 homes constructed in the late 19th and early 20th century along the southern edge of the park.
A new addition to the Fayetteville parks scene is the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. First envisioned in 1993, the Botanical Garden Society of the Ozarks raised funds for the facility until beginning construction in 2003. Planned to be built in three stages, the first stage has been completed and includes a visitor center, cafe, and garden gateway. Stage one also includes one-third of the total planned gardens and half the maintenance facilities. Fayetteville takes pride in its trail system, and has been named a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists since 2010. Trails in Fayetteville are well-marked with signs along the route in addition to road crossings. The city maintains trails within the city limits and segments of inter-city trails such as the Razorback Regional Greenway. The Razorback Greenway is a 36-mile (58 km), primarily off-road, shared-use trail which connects Fayetteville with Bella Vista via Johnson, Springdale, Lowell, Bentonville, and Rogers.
The Fayetteville trail system is anchored by the Scull Creek Trail, a north–south paved trail which is 3.93 miles (6.32 km) in length and 12 feet (3.7 m) wide. It crosses the namesake creek six times on arching steel bridges and also uses a 650-foot (200 m) tunnel, at one time the only pedestrian tunnel in Arkansas. A trail of 3.7 miles (6.0 km) named the Dickson Street/U of A loop links around the campus of the University of Arkansas and ends at the corner of Dickson Street and College Avenue. The Fayetteville Master Plan includes provisions for over 100 miles (160 km) of multi-use trails in the city. Approximately 2 to 3 miles (3.2 to 4.8 km) are added to the system per year.
From Wikipedia’s article on Fayetteville, Arkansas, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4