Tontitown is a city in northern

Washington County, Arkansas Washington County is a regional economic, educational, and cultural hub in the Northwest Arkansas region. Created as Arkansas's 17th County (United States), county on November 30, 1848, Washington County has 13 incorporated municipalities, inc ...

, United States. The community is located in the

Ozark Mountains 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 ...

and was founded by Italian settlers in 1898. Known for its grapes and wines, Tontitown has hosted the Tontitown Grape Festival continuously since 1898. It is part of the

Northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozarks. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers, ...

region, serving as a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for larger neighbors

Fayetteville Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois *Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayette ...

and Springdale. The town experienced a 160% growth in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.

History

Led by Catholic priest Pietro Bandini, who eventually became mayor of the city, Italian settlers working on

Sunnyside Plantation The Sunnyside Plantation was a former cotton plantation and is a historic site, located near Lake Village in Chicot County, Arkansas, in the Arkansas Delta region. Built as a cotton plantation in the Antebellum South, it was farmed using th ...

in the

Arkansas delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

moved to northwest Arkansas and found the climate and terrain similar to their native

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. Tontitown was settled in 1898 and named for Italian explorer

Henri de Tonti Henri de Tonti (born Enrico Tonti; – September 1704) was an Italian-born French military officer and explorer who assisted René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle during the French colonization of the Americas from 1678 to 1686."A tour of M ...

. The 35 initial families settled on plots, planting gardens and

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s. In 1909, the community incorporated, having grown to . Some residents resisted and resented the Italian influx, which largely spoke Italian and remained insulated. After threats and

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

of barns and the school, Bandini confronted a group to stop the terrorization of the nascent Tontitown community. The Tontitown grapes eventually became a major crop in Washington County following the construction of a Welch Company plant in Springdale near the railroad. The area also grew apples, blackberries, peaches, strawberries, and tomatoes for canning in Springdale.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,301 people, 1,399 households, and 1,060 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census the ethnic and racial composition of the population was 92.0% non-Hispanic white, 0.3% African-American, 0.5% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 2.4% reporting two or more races and 5.7% Hispanic.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 942 people in 351 households, including 273 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 368 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.28%

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 ...

, 1.70% Native American, 0.11%

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 ...

, 0.85% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. 2.23%. 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. Of the 351 households 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.4% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.2% were non-families. 18.5% of households were one person and 9.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.07. Tontitown has seen a very rapid growth in recent years as indicated by a 160% growth in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses. The age distribution was 27.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. Tonitown is part of the Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers metro area. The median household income was $43,750 and the median family income was $47,589. Males had a median income of $32,917 versus $25,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,058. About 4.9% of families and 8.7% 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 10.7% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

The city is known regionally for the Tontitown Grape Festival. Started in 1898 as a

harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual Festival, celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different ...

to celebrate the settlement's establishment, a spaghetti and

fried chicken Fried chicken, also called Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...

dinner continues the tradition. Many original families remain in Tontitown or nearby Springdale.

Education

It is in the

Springdale School District Springdale Public Schools (formally Springdale School District #50) is the public school district for students of primary and secondary education in Springdale, Arkansas and surrounding areas. The district contains three high schools, four jun ...

. Jim Rollins Elementary School a.k.a. Jim D. Rollins School of Innovation, a part of the Springdale district, is in Tontitown. It uses an open classroom instructional model from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Planning for the school began circa 2018 In October 2020 the district began building the school, which opened in fall 2021, though with some construction left unfinished. The dedication occurred in 2022. The school was named after a person who served as the superintendent of the Springdale district. In 2022 much of Tontitown is zoned to Jim D. Rollins Elementary in Tontitown (areas south of 412) and Shaw Elementary School in Springdale (areas north of 412), with some areas in the east zoned to Bernice Young Elementary School. All of Tontitown is zoned to Hellstern Middle School, Central Junior High School, and

Har-Ber High School Har-Ber High School is a comprehensive public high school for grades ten through twelve serving the community of Springdale, Arkansas, United States. Har-Ber High School is the one of three high schools managed in Washington County by Springdal ...

, all in Springdale. Most of the community, in 2006, was zoned to Bernice Young Elementary School, with a portion zoned to Walker Elementary School. Tontitown was divided between Hellstern and Helen Tyson middle schools, and Central and Southwest junior high schools. All portions were zoned to Har-Ber. Ozark Catholic Academy, a Roman Catholic high school, is in Tontitown.

Transportation

As of 2023, there is no fixed route transit service in Tontitown.

Ozark Regional Transit Ozark Regional Transit is the provider of mass transportation in the Northwest Arkansas region, including Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers, and Bentonville, Arkansas, Bentonville. Hi ...

operates bus services nearby in Springdale, but only demand-response service in Tontitown.

Notable people

* Pietro Bandini (1852–1917), town founder and mayor *

Albert Lewis Fletcher Albert Lewis Fletcher (October 28, 1896 – December 6, 1979) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas from 1946 to 1972. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop ...

, former Roman Catholic Bishop of Little Rock from 1947 to 1972, resided in Tontitown during his childhood. * The Duggar family, reality TV stars, reside in Tontitown.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Arkansas Cities in Washington County, Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Italian-American culture in Arkansas 1898 establishments in Arkansas