A favorite hangout for Bentonville teens in the 1950's was Zesto Ice Cream Drive In at 109 S.W. A St. It was opened in June of 1953 and was operated by Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Miller. The ice cream was made by a Zest-Mat machine which was the only fully automatic ice cream freezer on the market at the time. The business later became the Dari-O and was owned by Mr. Ed "Dippy" Owens. It was well known for its Frito chili pies and orange cream slushes. A story has been told that the police cars at that time had high antennas. The teens would run a string across the road high enough to catch the antenna, pulling it way back, then would release it and run!
Also in the 100 block of S. W. A St. was Ferguson's Lumber Yard which operated here from the 1890's to the 1920's. It was located directly behind the 100 block of W. Central. Dr. Joshua Hobbs is seen standing in lower front center of the photo above. He was one of the early doctors in Bentonville. This photo was taken in the 1890's .
This was the first building we know of that was located directly behind the Massey Hotel. This image was taken about 1909 when it was the Ford Service station for Dokes Auto Co. which was associated with Benton County Hardware. It was also the first service station in town, having a 500 gallon gasoline tank buried in the alley. The price of gas was 13 to 20 cents at that time.
Midwest Burlap Bag Company was at one time located right behind the Massey Hotel. It was at this location until about 1952, at which time it was torn down to make room for the Zesto ice cream drive in. In the foreground you can see the Burger Motor Co. sign. Today this is a city parking lot.