North of Fayetteville on Highway 71, this small Ozarks town is best known as the corporate headquarters of Wal-Mart, the retailing giant founded by the late Sam Walton. The original Walton variety store at 105 N. Main St. is now the Wal-Mart Visitors Center, complete with a museum that tells how Walton made his retail vision a reality. Bentonville also boasts a number of historic buildings, including Peel Mansion, a magnificent Italianate house. It is the home of the local historic society and open to the public. Every year, the mansion sponsors a local version of Antiques Roadshow, the two-day Peel Mansion Appraisal Faire.
Travelers who wax nostalgic for the BB guns of their youth will want to stop in nearby Rogers to check out the Daisy Airgun Museum. Located in an old drugstore building on Walnut Street, the museum is staffed by retirees from Rogers' own Daisy Outdoor Products who can add personal anecdotes to the historical displays. Incidentally, Rogers is the town where Sam Walton opened his first Wal-Mart store (in what is now Shelby Lane Mall). Bentonville is 185 mi/km northwest of Little Rock.
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