About the Springdale, Arkansas Area
Set the heart of the legendary Ozark Plateau Springdale offers its 60,000 or so residents the best of all possible worlds. With a vibrant economy, low unemployment, and superb cultural and community amenities Springdale is a great place to do business, while its excellent school system, safe, friendly communities, and fabulous range of outdoor recreational opportunities make it a wonderful place to raise a family. No wonder Springdale and Northwest Arkansas is one of the top five fastest-growing regions in America.
Location
The town of Springdale straddles the boundaries of Washington and Benton counties in northwestern Arkansas. It is situated in gently rolling wooded hills at 1322 feet above sea level on the Ozark Plateau. Springdale is 8 miles from Fayetteville, 58 miles from Fort Smith, AR, and 99 miles from Tulsa.
Interesting Facts/Historic Buildings and Places
Rich in the history of the Civil War, Northwest Arkansas contains many sites of interest to students of military history and those interested in the lives of the men and women who helped make our nation. Only minutes from Springdale, two State Parks commemorate major Civil War battles, while throughout the district there are cemeteries, historic buildings, and other reminders of that tumultuous time.
At the 4300 acre Pea Ridge National Military Park the site of the battle of 7-8 March 1862 is preserved. On this site over 26,000 soldiers fought for the future of the State of Missouri, and eventually, but with appalling losses on both sides, the Union prevailed.
Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park offers a more comprehensive insight into the realities of life and war in the mid-19th Century. On a self-guided driving or walking tour through the battle site, and with guided tours through replicas of typical buildings of the period and other interpretive programs, visitors come to see a little of what life was like for a Civil War soldier. Every second year, in December, a re-enactment of the Battle of Prairie Grove is held.
The small town of War Eagle is another site of immense historical interest. Founded by Sylvanus and Catherine Blackburn in the 1830's War Eagle became a thriving community, populated largely by the extended Blackburn family, and several buildings dating from the Civil War era still survive there. The local cemetery contains the remains of 125 Blackburn family members. A faithful replica of the original 1873 mill was built following the destruction by fire of the Farm's second mill in 1924. Still operating, powered by the War Eagle River, it is the only working grist mill in Arkansas, and with its eighteen-foot cypress waterwheel is believed to be the only mill of its type still operating in the United States. The renowned War Eagle Arts and Crafts Fair has been held in the township each year since 1954.
Jobs
Springdale prides itself on its "business-friendly" atmosphere and its large skilled and educated workforce. The town houses the corporate headquarters of Tyson Foods Inc., the largest meat-processing company in the world and one of Northwest Arkansas's two biggest employers along with Wal-Mart, whose headquarters are in nearby Bentonville. Springdale's forward-looking business and community leaders target knowledge-based industry, and the town's new Technology Park is attracting considerable interest, with many jobs in the IT area becoming available. Other significant employers are in the education, medical, and services areas.
Housing
In Springdale it's possible to buy a very nice family home for under $130,000, and some older houses can still be found for less than $100,000. Extensive subdivisions in and around the town offer a great range of new and near-new homes on a buyers' market up to around $300,000, and at the top end of the market there are gated communities with beautiful upscale homes and amenities or private homes with acreage where you can keep some horses and enjoy the relaxed Southern lifestyle.
Parks/Sports/Recreation/Golf
With plenty of parks, both new and well-established, Springdale residents are richly served with outdoor recreational opportunities. Located in Murphy Park, the city's oldest, the new $4 million Springdale Aquatic Park attracts people from all over Northwest Arkansas to its competition swimming and diving pools and its extensive play area, including several thrilling water slides. Other park areas offer hiking and cycling trails through lovely woods, quiet picnic spots for family gatherings, and facilities for organized and informal team sports like baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, and basketball.
Only minutes from the city the 500-mile shoreline of famous Beaver Lake allows access to some of the most beautiful scenic spots and the best hunting and hiking in the State. The lake offers fantastic boating and water sports, including swimming, scuba diving, water skiing, and jet skiing, and it is justly famous for its year-round fishing, with excellent stocks of striped, large and small mouth, and white bass, as well as bream, crappie, northern pike and walleye in abundance.
Springdale's Jones Center for Families is the unique vision of Bernice Jones, who has created a place where families and groups from throughout Northwest Arkansas can come together for healthy, wholesome, and enjoyable recreation that benefits and strengthens individuals, families, and the entire community. Serving 1.75 million people annually, the Jones Center offers a huge ice arena, swimming pools, health, wellness, and a host of educational enrichment classes, a public computer center that is used by over 100,000 visitors annually, and much more.
Over 20 courses within a few minutes' drive give Springdale's golfers plenty of choice. The town has two excellent 9-hole public courses and a number of award-winning private courses nearby, including the superb Blessings Golf Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., and listed in Travel + Leisure Golf Magazine's Ten Best New Private Courses in the U.S. for 2004.
Special Attractions/Events
The remarkable Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, established in 1965, takes its name from the town's original name. Initially developed to house a unique collection of Native American artifacts, the Museum has since expanded considerably and is now focused primarily on the social and folk history of the Northwest Arkansas Ozarks. Exhibits and interactive displays including six historic buildings tell the stories of the people of the Ozarks from the original indigenous inhabitants, through the pioneers, the Civil War, the Great Depression, and into modern times, with folk music, games, and a collection of over 700,000 photographs. The Museum also houses a research library and offers programs, lectures, and changing exhibits on a variety of regional history topics.
Now in its 63rd year and absolutely not to be missed, the Rodeo of the Ozarks is held over four days in July, with the spectacular last day on Independence Day. Over 500 contestants, many of them professional rodeo athletes, compete in classic rodeo events including steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing and bull riding. A fabulous 4th of July fireworks display helps make this highpoint of Springdale's calendar a great day for families to celebrate our Western heritage and the nation's birthday together.
Families, history and train enthusiasts, and all who appreciate wonderful scenery and the glories of nature will love the fabulous excursions on the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad. One of only a few railroads left in the US still operating both freight and passenger services, the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad offers the opportunity to go back in time and experience the relaxation and opulence of the Golden Age of train travel. From elegantly refurbished antique passenger coaches travelers enjoy stunning views of the beautiful Boston Mountains and historic Arkansas River Basin while a well-informed --and uniformed--conductor adds a nostalgic and interesting historical commentary
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