Two years after Arkansas received statehood in 1836 , thousands of Cherokee people from Georgia passed through Benton County as part of the Trail of Tears route to the Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma . Although no Civil War battles were fought inside Bentonville , the city was occupied by both armies and saw almost all of its buildings burned , either by opposing armies or guerrilla outlaws . Bentonville was a staging point for the Confederate army prior to the Battle of Pea Ridge , fought about northeast of town , and the town saw a brief skirmish just prior to the battle . The city began to rebuild about a decade after incorporation on April 3 , 1873 , with many of these Reconstruction Era buildings today serving as the oldest structures in Bentonville
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Bentonville, Arkansas