Go back in time to the 1970s.
1980
The federal census shows Fayetteville’s population to be 36,608, an increase of 19 percent from the 1970 census. The Black population was about 1,611 residents, or 4.4 percent of the overall population. The census also broke out the percentage of Hispanic residents for the first time, showing about 402 residents, or 1.1 percent of the overall city population. Washington County’s total population was 100,494.
1986
August — The Arkansas Air Museum opened in the old “White Hangar” at Drake Field. Serving on the museum’s first board of directors were Ray Ellis, Bob Younkin, Jim Younkin, Floyd Carl, Jim McDonald, Larry Brown, Ernest Lancaster and Bob McKinney.
1987
Washington Regional Medical Center installs a machine that allows magnetic resonance imaging of the body to help with internal issues without making any incision. The hospital’s Sleep Disorder Center also opens, one of only 100 in the U.S. at the time.
1989
Washington Regional Medical Center becomes a smoke-free institution. While it had always had a smoking policy, WRMC restricted smoking in the building.
Continue on to the 1990s.