The Peel Mansion - In 1875, Colonel Samuel West Peel built a marvelous villa tower Italianate Mansion on the outskirts of Bentonville, Arkansas.  It was a working farmstead surrounded by 180 acres of apple trees. 

Colonel Peel, pioneer businessman, Indian agent and Confederate soldier, was the first native born Arkansan to serve in the U.S. Congress.  He and his wife, Mary Emaline Berry Peel, raised nine children here. 

Much care was taken in erecting this magnificent house.  The timbers are of sturdy yellow pine.  The walls are made of local brick, late embellished by a stucco exterior.  Exterior stone sills and lintels were finely carved by a local stone mason. 

The front hall is a sophisticated presentation of rare pine graining and a gracefully turned walnut balustrade stairway.  Authentically designed curtains and colors derived from meticulous research embellish this softly lighted Victorian interior of the 1870's.  There is a rare Anglo-Japanese mantle in the library and unusual Greek Revival molded trim in the parlor.  Kerosene lamps and chandeliers lighted the darkness in the Peel household of many years ago and careful attention to this reality has resulted in a display of unusual lighting devices complete with globes, chimneys, wicks, and authentic period details.  Rugs, coverlets, furniture and other accessories create a truly authentic interior of the early Victorian period. 

The Historic Arkansas Museum and the Old State House have generously loaned fine antiques and artifacts to assist in furnishing the interior of the Peel Mansion Museum. 

Heritage Gardens - The Peel Mansion site is also an outdoor museum of historic roses, perennials and native plants.  Careful research over many months has resulted in an extensive inventory of nineteenth century plantings.  Descendants of early settlers were interviewed for their childhood memories of early gardens.  The 1845 Jacob Smith Nursery list from Fayetteville served as a documentary source.  Various vignette gardens are interlaced among curvilinear walks and large shade trees creating a most appropriate setting for this great historic building of northwest Arkansas.

Archival Library - The Peel House Foundation provides office space for several historic organizations such as the Benton County Preservation Project, which promotes preservation and gives assistance to owners of historic homes, the Benton County Historical Society, the Northwest Arkansas Genealogical Society, the resources of which cover much of the continental United States, and the Benton County Cemetery Preservation Group. Please note that these offices have been relocated to the lower level of The Conference Centre at Compton Gardens (312 N. Main Street, Bentonville AR 72712).

Questions or Comments? E-mail: Peel Mansion

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