Bentonville, city (2000 pop. 19,730), seat of Benton co., extreme NW Ark., in the Ozark Mts.; settled 1837 and named for Senator Thomas Hart Benton. Local industries produce fabricated metal products, plastic molding, electronic equipment, textiles, cutting tools, modular homes, and foods but the city is best known as the site of the corporate headquarters of Wal-Mart, Inc., the retailing giant. The Wal-Mart visitors center is located in Sam Walton's original local variety store. Peel Mansion (1875) and its gardens are on the city's outskirts.
