Timeline -- 1900s

1900
The federal census shows Fayetteville’s population to be 4,061, a 58 percent increase from the population in 1890. Washington County’s total population was 34,256.
Ozark & Cherokee Central Railway is established between Fayetteville and Tahlequah, Oklahoma, extending soon to Muskogee and Okmulgee.
Western Union opens an office near the Fayetteville square.
Rose Hill Church was established on the north side of town on Park Avenue near Hughes Street.

1901
An organization called the Well Known Wives is established in Fayetteville. Affiliated with the Arkansas State Federation of Woman’s Clubs, the organization included numerous wives of university faculty and administrators, and it met every other Wednesday.

1902
J.T. Erins and Joe D. Wilson establish Erins-Wilson Grocer Co. but sell out in 1906 to Conner Wholesale.

1903
The T. Bowen Tribe No. 59 of the Improved Order of Red Men was established this year.

1904
The fifth Washington County Courthouse, still standing, is designed by Charles Thompson and erected at the intersection of Center Street with College Avenue.
August 4 — First National Bank is created with S.P. Pittman named president.

1905
Conner Wholesale Grocery Co. is organized with C.C. Conner as president and Jeff Conner as vice president and manager. They sold out in 1907 to Ozark Grocer Co.
T.U. “Tom” Jackson opens the city’s first commercial cannery at the corner of Watson Street and West Avenue.
L.W. Newcomb opens the Fayetteville Business College, and enrollment reaches 200 within two years.
A Commercial League is organized by J.H. McIlroy, Jay Fulbright and H. Sour, among others. It lasted six years.

1906
The Knights of Pythias Lodge organizes a joint stock company to finance the building of a theater, known as the Knights of Pythias Hall and Opera House. It was eventually renamed the Ozark Theater and the front third of the building still stands remodeled at the corner of College and Center.
October 10 — The University Weekly, later renamed The Arkansas Traveler, begins publication as a student newspaper at the University of Arkansas.

1907
The Citizens Bank is established on Dickson Street near the depot with J.C. White elected president.
The first moving pictures are shown in Fayetteville.
July 26 — For $90,000, the city purchases a privately held waterworks and establishes Water Improvement District No. 1. On the same night, Sewer District No. 1 is also created by the city council, and a water and sewer commission is formed.

1908
Fayetteville High School is built on land west of School Avenue between Meadow and Center. The class totaled 27 the first year. The building was torn down in the 1960s, and a high-rise apartment complex for seniors was built on the site.
A Fayetteville chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized in Fayetteville.

1909
A drought forces water rationing. The City Council approves extending a water line to Clear Creek to supplement the dwindling water supply from the West Fork.
April 15 — Frank Barr opens a movie house and eventually moves it to the corner of Block and Meadow, naming the theater The Lyric.
May 5 — The Modern Woodmen of America, Ozark Camp No. 14010, is chartered in Fayetteville.