About Tontitown
A little slice of Italy in the Ozarks
Founded by Italian Catholic families in 1898, named for an explorer, and built around the grape harvest, Tontitown has kept its heritage through more than a century of change.
How Tontitown began
In the 1890s, dozens of northern Italian families came to America and settled at the Sunnyside colony in the Mississippi River lowlands of southeast Arkansas. The land was hard, the climate brought malaria, and the arrangement went badly. In early 1898, a priest named Father Pietro Bandini led about forty of those families north to the Ozark highlands, where the rolling hills and climate were far closer to the Italy they had left.
They named their new town for Henri de Tonti, the Italian-born explorer who helped chart the Mississippi River valley in the 1680s and is sometimes called the “father of Arkansas.” The families built St. Joseph Catholic Church, planted vineyards and orchards, and made a living from the land. Tontitown was formally incorporated in 1909, and Father Bandini became its first mayor the following year.
Grapes, and a festival that never stopped
Grapes became Tontitown's signature. Families grew Concord grapes by the ton, and when the Welch's company opened a grape-juice plant in nearby Springdale in the early 1920s, local vineyards had a ready market. The harvest became a celebration: the Tontitown Grape Festival, held every August, is believed to be the longest-running annual community event in Arkansas.
More than a century on, the festival still anchors the town's calendar. Members of St. Joseph Catholic Church serve the famous spaghetti dinner, a queen named Concordia is crowned, and the carnival, music, and crafts draw thousands of visitors. It is the clearest expression of an identity Tontitown has never let go of.
Tontitown today
Tontitown is now one of the fastest-growing cities in Northwest Arkansas. Its population climbed from 942 in 2000 to 2,460 in 2010 and 4,301 in the 2020 Census, and it has kept growing as the region booms. New neighborhoods, businesses, and roads are arriving quickly, and the City's job is to guide that growth while protecting what makes Tontitown distinct.
| Settled | 1898 by Italian Catholic families |
|---|---|
| Incorporated | 1909 |
| Named for | Explorer Henri de Tonti |
| Population | 4,301 (2020 Census), up from 2,460 in 2010 |
| County | Washington County, Arkansas |
| Known for | The August Tontitown Grape Festival |
Learn more
- City government: the Mayor, City Council, and departments.
- Business & development: building and growing in a fast-changing city.
- Calendar & events: meetings, hearings, and the Grape Festival.
This page consolidates the town's story, which the current site spreads across several pages, into one clear “About” path in the main navigation. The history here is drawn from the City's own account and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. On a live site it would link the Tontitown Historical Museum and primary sources.