The two-story museum with an adjoining gift shop and Spark Café & Soda Fountain covers 14,000 square feet at the site of the Walton 5-10 that Sam Walton opened here in 1950.
Category: Uniquely Arkansas

A Scoop of Sam

One more fact about Sam Walton’s life can be savored at the Spark Café & Soda Fountain next to the Walmart Museum: His favorite ice-cream flavor was butter pecan, which is always on the café’s menu.

Walton began selling Yarnell’s ice cream at his Ben Franklin store in Newport in the late 1940s. It remains the brand used in Spark’s ice-cream cups, cones and sundaes. Prices are pleasantly lower than most other ice-cream venues.

Near the café is the Walton 5-10 gift shop, where Walmart caps and T-shirts are among the bestselling souvenirs. Other popular items include stuffed animals that evoke Walton’s beloved bird dog, Ol’ Roy. Moon Pies are prominently for sale.

Renovated Walmart Museum brings history — and Sam Walton hologram — to life

Excerpts from Walmart founder Sam Walton’s autobiography, “Made in America,” can be heard through a hologram.

Sam Walton would be a likely front-runner in any vote to name the most influential Arkansan of all time. That’s thanks to the global shopping revolution he spurred and the economic boom he created in Arkansas’ northwest corner.

This remarkable story is told with added digital wizardry at the enlarged Walmart Museum, recently reopened on Bentonville’s downtown square after a 28-month renovation. One striking novelty is a life-size hologram of Walton, seated on a tall stool and programmed to answer questions from visitors.

The two-story museum with an adjoining gift shop and Spark Café & Soda Fountain covers 14,000 square feet at the site of the Walton 5-10 he opened here in 1950. That was 12 years before his first Walmart debuted in nearby Rogers.

A short video message from Walmart CEO Doug McMillon greets guests. He sets the museum’s laudatory tone by praising Walton as “an unpretentious leader” who “believed in making heroes out of people” and was “an illustration of the American dream.”

Exhibits portray Walton as a down-to-earth leader, even after he became fabulously wealthy. The largest single object on display is his red 1979 Ford half-ton truck, “which came to symbolize Sam’s own humble nature.” The vehicle’s keys and his last Arkansas driver’s license are also shown.

Sam Walton’s famous red pickup truck symbolizes the Arkansas founder’s humble nature.

A posted quote from Walton echoes his unpretentious qualities: “Why do I drive a pickup truck? What am I supposed to haul my dogs in, a Rolls-Royce?”

Exhibits proceed in mainly chronological order from the first to second floors. The earliest work-related object is a well-worn door from the Ben Franklin store Walton operated in Newport for five years before his 1950 move to Bentonville. An even earlier artifact is the dress his bride, Helen, wore in 1943 at their wedding.

A highlight preserved during the renovation is Walton’s office, displayed behind glass as it looked when he died in 1992. Workers later photographed and removed the contents, including the carpet and wood paneling. Papers stacked and scattered on the carpet give a sense of how devoted to work he was.

Months before his death, Walton received an honor that gave him great pride. That is evident from the wall-size exhibit that shows President George H.W. Bush presenting him with the Presidential Medal of Honor. He served as an Army captain during World War II, stationed stateside because of a heart condition.

Visitors can use interactive exhibits to see Walmart’s worldwide impact.

The exhibit “Flying With Sam” recounts Walton’s 1953 purchase of his first airplane, a two-seat Ercoupe Model 415-C that cost $1,850. Instead of “scouting solely from ground level, Sam flew to get a bird’s-eye view of towns and find the best locations for his new stores.”

Walmart’s semi-trucks get a floor-to-ceiling display that focuses on the scope of the company’s operations. The Walmart Private Fleet employs more than 15,000 drivers, who travel more than 900 million miles each year. That equals 5,700-plus trips from Earth to the moon.

Dolly Parton’s longtime association with Walmart is celebrated in a colorful display. She and her foundation have donated $2 million for Hurricane Helene relief in conjunction with the Walmart Foundation’s $6 million contribution.

Helen Walton’s wedding dress from 1943 is on display at the museum.

On the second floor, Sam Walton’s hologram voice is said to sound remarkably like the man himself. That’s thanks to technology that mimics comments from his “Made in America” autobiography and other recordings in the company’s archives.

One questioner on opening day asked what message Walton would give to workers at the company’s more than 10,000 stores around the world. The hologram responded: “It’s very important to smile at customers, look them in the eye and greet them. Those customers are the reason for our being.”

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