With a population just under 2,900, Mountain View offers a small town atmosphere along with a competitive business climate. The population of Stone County is approaching 20,000. Here you'll find a people and a setting almost unique in 20th century America.
Nestled in the Ozarks with misty blue mountains rising round about, the town of Mountain View, Arkansas, holds a rustic beauty for every day in the season. Clean air and clear streams, streaked limestone bluffs dropping into deeply etched valleys, and hardwood forests teeming with wildlife provide the rugged setting for life in Stone County.
The Ozark heritage of self-reliance, ingenuity, and a strong work ethic, together with the joy of sharing stories, dance and song, has survived in this isolated valley.
The folks of Mountain View are dedicated to preserving the early Ozark Mountain way of life. They want to maintain the time in history when things were simpler and people really enjoyed coming together for whatever the reason. About all early mountain pioneers had was the harshness of the elements, their pioneer skills, their stories, their music, and dancin' and each other. It was enough to help create Mountain View and make it the "Folk Music Capital of the World".
Stone County was created on April 21, 1873, from pieces of Independence, Izard, Van Buren and Searcy counties. It was named for the geological points of interest (mountains, caves and more) which dot the area. Mountain View began life as the small village of Riggsville located just to the east. The people named the new town "Mountain View." It was promptly designated as the seat of Stone County in 1874 and emerged as the economic center of the county.
Our educational system is highly rated with small class sizes. Mountain View Elementary School and Mountain View High School provide public education to students of all grade levels from kindergarten to 12th. It's also less than an hour's drive to higher education institutions such as Harding University, Arkansas State University at Beebe Branch and the University of Central Arkansas.
Stone County Medical Center is the first choice in health care services for residents of Stone County and the surrounding region. The hospital includes a heliport. There is a paramedic ambulance service and other excellent emergency facilities.
There is plenty of elbowroom here, from city parks to the national forest of 178,000 acres.
Mountain View and Stone County are home to some of the nation's most traditional and colorful festivals. These include the Arkansas Folk Festival in April, Old Time Gathering On The Square in June, Annual Bean Fest & Great Arkansas Outhouse Race in October, Thanksgiving In The Ozarks and Ozark Christmas.
The Blanchard Springs Recreation Area offers a rich outdoor experience. You can stroll a paved trail to where Blanchard Springs gushes as a waterfall from the hillside. Swim in the clear waters of North Sylamore Creek. Hike into the Ozark woods for an hour or a weekend. Try your luck catching the rainbow trout from Mirror Lake. Horseback riding, boating and lots of other outdoor activities are enjoyed in the area. The White River offers world-class rainbow & brown trout fishing!
Blanchard Springs offers one of the most spectacular and carefully developed caves anywhere. It is a "living" cave where glistening speleothems, like stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and flowstone, are yet changing. The Blanchard Campground is one of the most desirable in the nation. During the summer you have to come early or make a reservation to get a campsite.
There are several popular musical productions in the area in addition to those at the Ozark Folk Center Theater, including the Jimmy Driftwood Barn, Brickshy's Showboat Theatre and the White River Hoedown. Attractions of a different perspective include The Ironworks on Mountain View's historic square, and The Old Mill (circa 1914) and museum.
The Ozark Folk Center is helping to continue that remarkable heritage through careful documentation of Ozark lifeways, with apprentice and workshop programs in which the skills of the Ozark people are passed to a new generation, and through presentation of the Ozark crafts and music through craft demonstrations and music shows on the Folk Center grounds. This Arkansas State Park shares the story of the Ozark way of life which bred an independent, religious, joyful people who survived the hardships of pioneer days by their native wit and wisdom.