Local City of Fayetteville


 


Northwest Arkansas was originally Native American Country. Used as a hunting ground by the Osage and later inhabited by the Cherokee, the first permanent settlers came into the area in the mid-1820s when Arkansas was still a territory. Fayetteville was established as the county seat on October 17, 1828. Fayetteville has long been known for its innovative spirit, as an academic center, as the "Athens of the Ozarks", and as a "hilly area" known for the 7 hills around and within it.
        On October 17, 1828, Washington County was established out of Lovely County, which had been established the previous year. Originally named Washington Courthouse, the City of Fayetteville was given its name in 1829, when Postmaster General William T. Barry ordered the name changed to avoid confusion arising from another town in Hempstead County already named Washington. County commissioners chose the name Fayetteville because 2 of the commissioners, James Buchanan and John Wooddy, hailed from Fayetteville, Tennessee within it.