Northwest Arkansas was once called the “Land of the Big Red Apple” as we proudly produced more barrels of apples than any other region in Arkansas.  It all started, they say, with a Cherokee woman who owned one of the largest orchards in Benton County.  By the turn of the century Northwest Arkansas boasted 2,500,000 bushels, and by 1919 five million bushels of apples were being picked around the county.  However, by the 1930s, diseases such as San Jose Scale and Cedar Rust, late frosts, heavy rains, and hot, dry summers began to take their toll on the orchards.  Farmers they began to diversify and turned to other crops, cows and chickens.  Today, the chicken reigns supreme in Northwest Arkansas. Learn about the early poultry industry of Northwest Arkansas with this short online exhibit.