Fayetteville () is the 2nd most populous city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until 1829, the city was named after Fayetteville, Tennessee, from which many of the settlers had come. It was incorporated on November 3, 1836, and was rechartered in 1867. Fayetteville is included in the three-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ranked 100th in terms of population in the United States with 576,403 in 2022 according to the United States Census Bureau. The city had a population of 99,285 in 2022.
Fayetteville is home to the University of Arkansas, the state's flagship university. When classes are in session, thousands of students on campus change up the pace of the city. Thousands of Arkansas Razorbacks alumni and fans travel to Fayetteville to attend football, basketball, and baseball games. The city of Fayetteville is colloquially known as the "Track Capital of the World" due to the success and prestige of the University of Arkansas cross country and track & field programs. The University's men's cross country and track and field programs have won a combined 41 national championships to date with the women's teams adding 5 national championships since 2015.
The city is the first in America to be awarded the designation of "Bike City" by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body of cycling. It was given the title in 2021 due to it not only hosting major UCI cycling events, but also its work in developing cycling through programs and infrastructure.
The city hosts the Walmart Shareholders Meetings each year at the Bud Walton Arena.
History
Settlement through Antebellum period
In 1828, George McGarrah settled at Big Spring with his family on the modern day corner of Spring and Willow, founding the town of Washington, and starting work on the courthouse. On October 17, Washington County was established, Washington chosen as the county seat. The Washington Courthouse was finished in 1829, and also contained the post office. Later in the year Postmaster Larkin Newton changed the name to the Fayetteville Courthouse, to avoid confusing with Washington, Hempstead County. Two councilmen selected to name the city were from Fayetteville, Tennessee, which was itself named for Fayetteville, North Carolina (where some of its earliest residents had lived before moving to Tennessee). That original Fayetteville was named for General Lafayette, a French general who helped the colonies gain independence in the American Revolutionary War.
The first store in Fayetteville was opened by John Nye in a small building constructed by James Holmsley. In 1832 David Walker, Chief Justice of the Arkansas supreme court, built a double log cabin on what is now Center Street. In 1822 Archibald Yell, the second Governor of Arkansas, built a house and called it "Waxhaw" after his home in North Carolina. This was on the outskirts of town then but now is a street named after him that connects College and School streets. The first hotels were the Burnside House and the Onstott House. Fayetteville was incorporated as a town on November 3, 1836.
In 1859, a city charter was obtained from the Legislature. During the Civil War the municipal government was suspended and was not reinstated until 1867. P.V. Rhea was the president of the town trustees in 1836; J.W. Walker was the first mayor under the charter of 1859, and M.L. Harrison was the first mayor when the government was reorganized in 1867. The telegraph came to Fayetteville in 1860, strung along the Military Road from St. Louis, Missouri, to Little Rock.