Benton County is a county in the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

region of the U.S. state of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. Created as Arkansas' 35th county on September 30, 1836, Benton County contains thirteen incorporated

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, including Bentonville, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and Rogers, the most populous city. The county was named after Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. Senator from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

influential in Arkansas statehood. The county is located within the Springfield Plateau of the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

. Much of eastern Benton County is located along Beaver Lake, a reservoir of the White River. The county contains three protected areas: Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge, Pea Ridge National Military Park, and Devil's Eyebrow Natural Area, as well as parts of the Ozark National Forest, Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area, and two state wildlife management areas. Benton County occupies and contained a population of 284,333 people in 100,749 households as of the 2020 Census, ranking it tenth in size and second in population among the state's 75 counties. The county's economy is heavily influenced by the presence of

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

, headquartered in Bentonville, and hundreds of associated businesses, with agriculture, tourism, and construction also important sectors. Benton County's median household income is the highest in Arkansas and slightly above the national median.

History

Prior to white settlement of the county, the region was used by roving bands of Osage and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

who used the area for seasonal hunting grounds. Initial white settlement on Benton County took place around Maysville around 1830, followed by areas around Garfield, Cross Hollow, and Centerton. Settlers were predominantly from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, followed by Southern

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

states. Benton County was created from neighboring Washington County by the Arkansas General Assembly on September 30, 1836. Created shortly after statehood, it was named for Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. Senator from

influential in Arkansas's statehood. Following establishment, a citizen committee was established to select the

. It decided to create Bentonville, with a town square and 136 lots around it, in 1837. The first building serving as courthouse was the home of George P. Wallace, the first county judge, for the 1837 court term. By the following year, a log structure on the north side of the Bentonville square was complete and served as the first permanent courthouse. In 1841, a contractor was building a brick courthouse in the middle of the Bentonville square. It was burned by Union troops during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in 1862. Court resumed after the war in a rented office for a few months until a new two-story frame building was constructed east of the county jail. In 1870, the search for a more permanent home for county government began, and a new structure was finished after significant struggle and controversy, in 1874. This building was replaced by the present-day Benton County Courthouse in 1928. On May 26, 2024, Benton County experienced the largest tornado in Arkansas history, an EF3 with a width of . This also initiated the first ever Arkansas appearance of FEMA for emergency disaster relief.

Geography

Benton County is located within the Springfield Plateau subset of the Ozark Mountains. The plateau is gently rolling compared to the steeper Boston Mountains to the south and east, and contains

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

features such as springs, losing streams,

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

s, and

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s. Groundcover historically consisted of oak–hickory forests,

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

s, and tall grass prairies. Today, most of the forest and almost all of the prairie have been replaced by agriculture or expanding residential areas. Poultry, cattle, and hog farming are primary land uses; pastureland and hayland are common. Application of poultry litter to agricultural fields is a non-point source that can impair water quality. Total suspended solids and

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wa ...

values in streams are usually low, but

total dissolved solids Total dissolved solids (TDS) is a measure of the dissolved solids, dissolved combined content of all inorganic compound, inorganic and organic compound, organic substances present in a liquid in molecule, molecular, ionized, or micro-granular (so ...

and water hardness values are high. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.14%) is water. It is the 12th largest county in Arkansas by total area. Most of the water is in Beaver Lake. The county is located approximately east of

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, south of

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, and northwest of

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. Benton County is surrounded by Barry County, Missouri and McDonald County, Missouri to the north, Delaware County, Oklahoma and Adair County, Oklahoma to the west, Carroll County to the east, and the other two counties of the NWA metropolitan area: Madison County to the east, and Washington County to the south. The highest point in Benton County is near the Lost Bridge Village Community Center on Whitney Mountain (formerly known as Poor Mountain).

Hydrology

Benton County is divided into five watersheds. The eastern part of the county is drained by the White River, which includes Beaver Lake. Major tributaries include War Eagle Creek, Little Clifty Creek, Spider Creek, Indian Creek, Prairie Creek and Esculapia Creek. Northern Benton County is within the Elk River watershed; the northeast corner is drained by tributaries to Big Sugar Creek; north central Benton County drains to Little Sugar Creek. The southwest part of Benton County is within the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

watershed; southwest and south-central parts of the county drain to Osage Creek and western Benton County drains to Flint Creek or Spavinaw Creek. Northeastern Benton County drains to tributaries of the Neosho River. A very small part of northwestern Benton County drains to the Grand Lake. The county has natural springs, which were very important to early settlers. Benton County communities named for their nearby springs include Cave Springs, Eldorado Springs, Elm Springs, Osage Mills, Siloam Springs, Springdale, Springtown, and Sulphur Springs.

Protected areas

Benton County contains eight protected areas and parts of three more. Three are federally administered, with the remainder under state jurisdiction. Three areas preserve

landforms: Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge, which was created to preserve the endangered gray bat, endangered Benton cave crayfish, the threatened Ozark cavefish, and other significant cave dwelling wildlife species, Cave Springs Cave Natural Area, and Healing Springs Natural Area. Beaver Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Hobbs State Park - Conservation Area, and Devil's Eyebrow Natural Area preserve steep Ozark Mountain terrain around Beaver Lake. Two preserve the flat prairies of the Springfield Plateau: Chesney Prairie Natural Area and Searles Prairie Natural Area. Pea Ridge National Military Park preserves the site and interprets the impact of the

Battle of Pea Ridge The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862), also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, took place during the American Civil War near Leetown, Arkansas, Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas. United States, Feder ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. * Ozark National Forest (part) * Wedington Wildlife Management Area

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 284,333 people, 100,749 households, and 72,399 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 221,339 people. The racial makeup of the county was 76.18%

Non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 1.27% Black or African American, 1.69% Native American, 2.85% Asian, 0.30%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

. 15.49% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 153,406 people, 58,212 households, and 43,484 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 64,281 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.87%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.41%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.65% Native American, 1.09% Asian, 0.08%

, 4.08% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. 8.78% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. As of 2005 estimates, Benton County's population was 81.7% non-Hispanic white, while the percentage of Latinos grew by 60 percent in the time period. 1.1% of the population was African-American; 1.6% was Native American (the historical presence of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Indians live in close proximity to

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

); 1.7% was Asian (there was a large influx of Filipinos, Vietnamese and

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

immigrants in recent decades) and 0.2% of the population was Pacific Islander. 1.6% reported two or more races, usually not black-white due to a minuscule African-American population. 12.8% was Latino, but the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce believed the official estimate is underreported and Latinos could well be 20 percent of the population. There were 58,212 households, out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.00% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.30% were non-families. 21.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.60% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,281, and the median income for a family was $45,235. Males had a median income of $30,327 versus $22,469 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $19,377. About 7.30% of families and 10.10% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.80% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

After the end of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

in 1933, Benton County voters voted that year to stay dry and voted twice in 1944 to stay dry. In 2012, Benton County voters elected to make the county wet, allowing countywide retail alcohol sales.

Economy

was founded in Rogers, and its corporate headquarters is located in Bentonville. * Daisy Outdoor Products, known for its air rifles, is headquartered in Rogers. * JB Hunt Transport Services corporate headquarters is located in Lowell. *

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of broiler industry, chicken, beef, and pork after JBS ...

, based in Springdale, has a distribution center located in Rogers. * Simmons Foods, a major supplier of poultry, pet, and animal nutrition products, is based in Siloam Springs. * America's Car-Mart, one of the largest American publicly held automotive retailers, is based in Rogers.

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 49 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway with multiple segments. The original portion is entirely within Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from Interstate 220 (Louisiana), I-220 in Shreveport, Louisian ...

* U.S. Highway 62 * U.S. Highway 71 * U.S. Highway 412 * Highway 12 * Highway 16 * Highway 43 * Highway 59 * Highway 72 * Highway 94 * Highway 102 * Highway 112 * Highway 127 * Highway 244 * Highway 264 * Highway 265 * Highway 279 * Highway 303 * Highway 340 * Highway 549 * Highway 612 The historic Trail of Tears is on US highways 62 and 71 and connects with U.S. Route 412 in nearby Washington County.

Airports

* Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) is located near Highfill. * Rogers Municipal Airport (ROG) serves the county and surrounding communities.

Rail

The Arkansas and Missouri Railroad parallels US Highways 62 and 71 in the county. The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (commonly known as the "Frisco") was completed across Benton County in 1881. The Bentonville Railway Company operated a freight and passenger railroad between Rogers and Bentonville between 1883 and 1898.

Government & Politics

Government

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the

Constitution of Arkansas The Constitution of Arkansas is the Constitution, primary organizing law for the U.S. state of Arkansas delineating the duties, powers, structures, and functions of the Politics and government of Arkansas, state government. Arkansas' original ...

and the Arkansas Code. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called ''justices of the peace'' and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Benton County Quorum Court has fifteen members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the ''county judge'', who serves as the

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions. The composition of the Quorum Court following the 2024 elections is 15 Republicans. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are: * District 1: Jeff Dunn (R) of Rogers * District 2: Ken Farmer (R) of Rogers * District 3: Richard McKeehan (R) of Rogers * District 4: Mike Miller (R) of Rogers * District 5: Carrie Perrien Smith (R) of Rogers * District 6: Brian Armas * District 7: Joseph Bollinger (R) of Bella Vista * District 8: Joel Jones (R) of Bentonville * District 9: Gregory Woodell (R) (''position now Vacant'') * District 10: Danny McCrackin (R) of Bella Vista * District 11: Dustin Todd (R) of Bentonville * District 12: John Rissler (R) of Siloam Springs * District 13: Kurt S. Moore (R) of Siloam Springs * District 14: Bethany Rosenbaum (R) of Lowell * District 15: Joel Edwards (R) of Centerton Additionally, the townships of Benton County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the

. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult. The township constables as of the 2024 elections are: * District 1: James Gibson (R) * District 2: Keith Brummett (R) * District 3: Stephen Rosser (R) * District 4: Gordon L. Fisher (R) * District 5: Steven Walls (R)

Politics

As is typical of the Ozarks and the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...

, Benton County is strongly Republican. It was one of the first counties in Arkansas to break from the Democratic

Solid South The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...

, supporting Republicans

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

in 1928 and Thomas E. Dewey in 1944. It has not been carried by a Democratic presidential nominee since

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in 1948.Sullivan, Robert David
‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’
''America Magazine'' in ''The National Catholic Review''; June 29, 2016 Along with nearby Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County, it was one of the few counties in Arkansas to resist the appeal of Southern Democratic "favorite sons" Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Arkansas governor Bill Clinton, while also voting for Republican Richard Nixon in 1968 as George Wallace won Arkansas on the pro-segregation American Independent Party ticket. Carter, in 1976, remains the last Democrat to win even forty percent of the county's vote. In Benton County, voters have supported the GOP in the last nineteen presidential elections.

Communities

Cities

* Bella Vista, Arkansas, Bella Vista * Bentonville (county seat) * Bethel Heights, Arkansas, Bethel Heights * Cave Springs * Centerton * Decatur, Arkansas, Decatur * Elm Springs (mostly in Washington County) * Gentry, Arkansas, Gentry * Gravette, Arkansas, Gravette * Little Flock, Arkansas, Little Flock * Lowell * Pea Ridge, Arkansas, Pea Ridge * Rogers * Siloam Springs * Springdale (mostly in Washington County) * Sulphur Springs

Towns

* Avoca, Arkansas, Avoca * Garfield * Gateway, Arkansas, Gateway * Highfill * Springtown

Census-designated places

* Cherokee City, Arkansas, Cherokee City * Hiwasse, Arkansas, Hiwasse (former CDP) * Lost Bridge Village * Maysville * Prairie Creek, Arkansas, Prairie Creek

Townships

Benton County Arkansas 2010 Township Map large

Note: Most Arkansas counties have names for their townships. Benton County, however, has numbers instead of names.

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Bentonville Public Schools * Decatur School District * Gentry Public Schools * Gravette School District * Pea Ridge School District * Rogers Public Schools * Siloam Springs Schools * Springdale School District

Notes

References

External links

Official Website of Benton County, Arkansas

Benton County Code of Ordinances

County Records Online
{{Authority control Benton County, Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas 1836 establishments in Arkansas Populated places established in 1836