Wal-Mart Visitor Center and Museum

Bentonville, located in northwestern Arkansas, has a quaint town square, and after a tasty lunch in the old-time Station Cafe, we went to the nearby store...



... which was Sam and Bud Walton's first establishment, opened in 1950 as a franchise of Ben Franklin 5 & 10...



The store is now a museum and homage to the founding Waltons and has interesting and varied displays tracing the roots and growth from that small operation to becoming the world's largest retail establishment.



Sam's first office has been recreated and shows his meager desk, their one adding machine, the apple crate behind his chair which was for visitors to sit on, and the original dial phone with the phone number 96 on it. His final office has also been reconstructed in the museum, and though larger and better equipped, has few trappings and is far from ornate. A sign says he seldom used the office because he much preferred visiting stores and talking with associates and customers.



Sam's old red Ford 150 pickup truck is also on display, and a sign notes his comment when someone asked why he still drove the old relic. His answer was something along the line of: "I can't take my hunting dogs in a Mercedes."

Wal-Mart Visitor Center