Fayetteville Historic Square

    The origin of the Square is the same as the origin of Fayetteville itself. As the original settlers populated the area in the early 1800's, the first businesses and trade were set up at the site that would develop into the square. In 1834, the U.S Congress passed the "Act of Relief of the Town of Fayetteville." This act allowed for the surveying of the Fayetteville area which divided the land into plots to be sold. The sale of these plots funded the construction of a county courthouse in the center of the square, establishing it as a center of political as well as economic importance.

    In the years leading up to the Civil War, the square grew and flourished. There were hard times ahead, however. The War hit Fayetteville hard. On February 20, 1862, Confederate troops invaded and looted the town. They burned the town in order to keep Union forces from having access to any of the resources of the town. It took time, but the square recovered and once again assumed the role of the growing center of the community. This was not the end of the Square's misfortune, however. A devastating tornado stormed through the town on April 18, 1880, destroying several buildings and killing one resident. Just a year later, the square was hit with a severe hailstorm which damaged businesses.

    The Square was able to bounce back and grow faster than ever. Any remaining gaps between buildings were filled in with new businesses. Fayetteville began to transition from a small agricultural community to a more modern, thriving town. With this change the square came to be more than houses and general stores. Billiard halls and a bowling alley were built. At the beginning of the 1900's the square became host to one of America's newest sensations, the movie theater.

    The growth of the 1900's led to the square becoming recognizable as it is today. The post office building was built in 1910 in the center of the square, where it sits today. In 1912 several students were expelled from the University of Arkansas for creating an underground newspaper called "X-Ray." Students gathered at the square to protest the expulsions, which were successful in reinstating the students. This precedent has led to a tradition of using the Square as a protest site, which continues today.

    The rapid growth of the square began to plateau as the town was hit by the Great Depression, followed by the departure of many of the town's young men to World War II. Beginning in the 1960's the commercial focus of the town began to shift away from the square. The Evelyn Hills shopping center, built in 1960, and the Northwest Arkansas Mall, built in 1972, brought business away from the square. By the 1970's the Square was facing the one challenge it bounce back from: Urban Renewal. Many of the historic buildings began to be torn down. Preservation efforts from citizens were able to save some of the buildings, leading to the blend of old and new that characterizes the Square today.

Alison, Charles Y. A Brief History of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2017.

Bill (1834). https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/23rd-congress/Session%201/c23s1ch75.pdf.

Wappel, Anthony J., and J. B. Hogan. The Square Book: an Illustrated History of the Fayetteville Square, 1828-2016. Fayetteville, AR: Self-Published, 2017.