Washington County is a regional economic, educational, and cultural hub in the Northwest Arkansas region. Created as Arkansas's 17th county on November 30, 1848, Washington County has 13 incorporated municipalities, including Fayetteville, the county seat and Springdale. The county is also the site of small towns, bedroom communities, and unincorporated places. The county is named for George Washington, the first President of the United States
Shiloh, Shilo, or Silo is mainly known as the name of the biblical city which preceded Jerusalem as the central worship site of the early Israelites. One Bible line might indicate that it was also used as the personal name of a biblical figure.
Springdale is the fourth-largest city in Arkansas, United States. It is located in both Washington and Benton counties in Northwest Arkansas. Located on the Springfield Plateau deep in the Ozark Mountains, Springdale has long been an important industrial city for the region. In addition to several trucking companies, the city is home to the world headquarters of Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat producing company. Originally named Shiloh, the city changed its name to Springdale when applying for a post office in 1872. The four-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 109th in terms of population in the United States with 463,204 in 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau. The city had a population of 69,797 at the 2010 Census.
Tontitown is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located in the Ozark Mountains 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 region, serving as a bedroom community for larger neighbors Fayetteville and Springdale. The town experienced a 160% growth in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.
The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portion of northern Arkansas and most of the southern half of Missouri, extending from Interstate 40 in central Arkansas to Interstate 70 in central Missouri.
The Boston Mountains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Part of the Ozark Mountains, the Boston Mountains are a deeply dissected plateau. The ecoregion is steeper than the adjacent Springfield Plateau to the north, and bordered on the south by the Arkansas Valley. The Oklahoma portion of the range is locally referred to as the Cookson Hills.
The Buffalo River, located in Northern Arkansas, was the first National River to be designated in the United States. The Buffalo River is 153 miles (246 km) long. The lower 135 miles (217 km) flow within the boundaries of an area managed by the National Park Service, where the stream is designated the Buffalo National River. The river flows through Newton, Searcy, Marion, and Baxter Counties, from west to east. The river originates in the highest part of the Boston Mountains of the Ozarks, flows out onto the Springfield Plateau near the historic community of Erbie, and finally crosses a portion of the Salem Plateau just before joining the White River. The Park is home to the state's only elk herd. The upper section of the river in the Ozark National Forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and is designated as a National Scenic River and a National Wild River; that section is not part of the area managed as a park by the Park Service but is managed as a part of the Ozark National Forest.
The Illinois River is a 145-mile-long (233 km) tributary of the Arkansas River in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The Osage Indians named it Ne-eng-wah-kon-dah, which translates as "Medicine Stone River." The state of Oklahoma has designated its portion as a Scenic River. The Illinois River is a significant location in the 1961 Wilson Rawls novel, Where the Red Fern Grows.
Highway 16 is an east–west state highway in Arkansas. The route begins in Siloam Springs at US Highway 412 (US 412) and Highway 59 and runs east through Fayetteville and the Ozark National Forest to US Highway 67 Business (US 67B) in Searcy. Highway 16 was created during the 1926 Arkansas state highway numbering, and today serves as a narrow, winding, 2-lane road except for overlaps of 10 miles (16 km) through Fayetteville. Much of the highway winds through the Ozarks, including the Ozark National Forest, where a portion of the highway is designated as an Arkansas Scenic Byway. The route has a short spur route in Siloam Springs designated as Highway 16 Spur.
The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, located in Springdale, Arkansas, is a regional history museum covering the Arkansas Ozarks. Programs, exhibits, and events relating to Ozark and Northwest Arkansas history are offered by the museum to the public. The museum has a large research library and the largest collection of historic images in Arkansas. The library is open to the public during regular museum hours. The geographic region covered by the museum includes the following six counties: Benton County, Boone County, Carroll County, Madison County, Newton County, and Washington County.
Alley Spring is an unincorporated community in Shannon County, Missouri, United States. It is located six miles west of Eminence on Route 106. The scenic Alley Mill, or "Old Red Mill" is located there on a spring and is located in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The Mill is operated as an Ozarks history museum. Nearby a one room schoolhouse and general store add to the feeling of the restored historic hamlet. It once had a post office, but it is now closed and mail now comes from Eminence. The community is named after John Alley, a miller. It was originally named Mammoth Spring and later Barksdale Spring. These names were deemed too long by the Post Office Department of the time, so the village was renamed after a prominent local citizen, John Alley.
The Ozark National Scenic Riverways is a recreational unit of the National Park Service in the Ozarks of southern Missouri in the U.S..
Summers is an unincorporated community in far western Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community has a postal designation and the population of the Summers zip code area was 942 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, Arkansas-Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The geography of Arkansas varies widely. The state is covered by mountains, river valleys, forests, lakes, and bayous in addition to the cities of Arkansas. Hot Springs National Park features bubbling springs of hot water, formerly sought across the country for their healing properties. Crowley's Ridge is a geological anomaly rising above the surrounding lowlands of the Mississippi embayment.
Combs is an unincorporated community in southern Madison County, Arkansas, United States. It is located on Arkansas Highway 16 at the southern terminus of AR 295. The community is within the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest and just south of the upper White River. The community of Brashears is about two miles east on route 16.
Big Piney Creek is a river located in Ozark National Forest in the state of Arkansas. It is a tributary of the Arkansas River and therefore part of the Mississippi River watershed. Managed by the United States Forest Service, it flows for 70.8 miles (113.9 km) through Pope, Johnson and Newton counties. The headwaters of the creek are in a rugged, remote area just east of Arkansas Route 21 south of the community of Fallsville and the mouth of the creek empties into Lake Dardanelle on the Arkansas River.
The Fayetteville Shale is a geologic formation of Mississippian age composed of tight shale within the Arkoma Basin of Arkansas and Oklahoma. It is named for the city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and requires hydraulic fracturing to release the natural gas contained within.
Wedington Woods is an unincorporated community in Litteral Township, Washington County, Arkansas, United States. It is located west of Fayetteville, north of Wedington Drive. A small grass airport exists named Wedington Woods Airport.
Batavia is an unincorporated community in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. Batavia is located on Arkansas Highway 392, 5.0 miles (8.0 km) west-northwest of Harrison.
Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville, the surrounding towns of Benton and Washington counties, and adjacent rural Madison County, Arkansas. The United States Census Bureau-defined Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area includes 2,674 square miles (6,930 km2) and 525,032 residents, ranking NWA as the 105th most-populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. and the 22nd fastest growing in the United States.
