Visitors Guide to Blytheville, Arkansas
"Where southern hospitality begins"
Downtown Blytheville
Located approximately 60 miles north of West Memphis, Blytheville is often called the “gateway to the Arkansas Delta” and has been inhabited since pre-Columbian times. Ongoing excavations at a site in nearby Gosnell have revealed entire households, complete with pottery and artifacts from the Nodena archaeological phase. This is a period of the Late Mississippian culture which dates from about 1400 to 1650 CE and is known from a collection of villages along the Mississippi River between the Missouri Bootheel and Wapanocca Lake. The inhabitants practiced extensive maize agriculture and artificial cranial deformation. They were members of a continent wide trade and religious network known as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto Expedition is believed to have visited several sites in the region in the early 1540s
Modern Blytheville’s history dates to the 1870s. At the time Mississippi County had thousands of acres of cypress and hardwood trees. The landscape began to change after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 which created a huge demand for cheap timberland for rebuilding. Blytheville was founded in 1879 by the Methodist clergyman Henry T. Blythe. By 1890 Blytheville had become a booming lumber town with saloons, pool halls, rooming houses, and dens of prostitution. However, the razing of all the timberlands revealed soil suitable for growing cotton and soybeans and Blytheville transformed into more of an agricultural center. Blytheville remained mainly an agricultural community until the 1980s, when farming was increasingly mechanized. Since then, Blytheville has developed a growing industrial base, much of which is centered on the steel industry which has been attracted to Blytheville’s prime location on the Mississippi River and strong work ethic.
For today’s visitors Blytheville’s historic downtown area offers boutique shopping, along with clothing stores, books, shoes and great bargains. All around town, visitors can enjoy superb accommodations at award-winning hotels. Fine food is abundant, from the area’s classic pork barbeque to ethnic delights and gourmet dining. Blytheville’s guests will find a level of friendliness and warmth that only true Southern hospitality can offer.
