Rural Life in Northwest Arkansas

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The Ozarks abound with beautiful waterways.
The Ozarks abound with beautiful waterways.
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Examples of the traditional rustic hardware store are easy to find in Arkansas.
Examples of the traditional rustic hardware store are easy to find in Arkansas.
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Farmers' market offers great bargains to Ozarkers.
Farmers' market offers great bargains to Ozarkers.
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The growing season in the Ozarks is about 180 days. The first killing frosts usually occur in late October and the last in late April.
The growing season in the Ozarks is about 180 days. The first killing frosts usually occur in late October and the last in late April.
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Downtown Eureka Springs offer historical charm.
Downtown Eureka Springs offer historical charm.
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It's hard to beat the view afforded by the rolling Arkansas hills.
It's hard to beat the view afforded by the rolling Arkansas hills.
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Small family farming is still the backbone of the rural Arkansas economy.
Small family farming is still the backbone of the rural Arkansas economy.
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Craftspeople, of which there are many, have little trouble finding outlets for their wares.
Craftspeople, of which there are many, have little trouble finding outlets for their wares.

Cream of the country: northwest Arkansas. The first in a series of the best sections of America to live a rural lifestyle.

Rural Life in Northwest Arkansas

A great plateau once covered some 60,000 square miles of northern Arkansas, a large section of southern and central Missouri, and small bits of Oklahoma and Kansas. Over millions of years, however, that flat-topped mountain has eroded to produce the limestone bluffs, mountainous woodlands, sweeping meadows, trout streams, lakes, and rivers that we call the Ozarks. While the lover of rural life can find beauty and tranquility in abundance throughout this region, we selected four counties in extreme northwest Arkansas (Washington, Benton, Carroll, and Madison) because of the diversity of lifestyles — from urban to remote rural — that can be found within an area some 55 miles long and 75 miles wide.

U.S. Highways 71 and 62 intersect at Fayetteville, the area’s largest city, which is 192 miles from Little Rock and 126 miles from Tulsa. Its airport offers daily flights to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Tulsa, and Little Rock.

Southern portions of Washington and Madison Counties are covered by the huge Ozark National Forest, another small section of which can be found on the border between Washington and Benton. In the north, man-made Beaver Lake, which looks from the air like a great flying dragon, stretches into Washington, Benton, and Carroll Counties. The lake is popular with campers, boaters, and fishing enthusiasts.

  • Published on Sep 1, 1986
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