Tontitown Grape Festival (Early 20th century)

Tontitown was an Italian American community at the turn of the 20th century when members of an Italian agriculture community working in Chicot County split and moved into Washington County around the end of the 19th century. Washington county was one of the many counties in the region by the 1900s that helped produce 35% of the State’s fruit and berries. Similar to apple orchard farming, grape vines were the main form of agricultural practice for the community, holding festivals and creating a ethnic community group in the region. Horticulture clubs advertisement of the region through its development in the agricultural industry brought residents to the Ozark regions through its massive success.