Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Fort Smith National Historic Site

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Nearest city
  
Fort Smith, Arkansas

Governing body
  
National Park Service

Designated
  
October 15, 1966

Phone
  
+1 479-783-3961

Management
  
National Park Service

Visitors
  
86,122 (in 2011)

Website
  
nps.gov/fosm/index.htm

Area
  
8 ha

Established
  
September 13, 1961

Fort Smith National Historic Site

Location
  
Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States

Address
  
301 Parker Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72901, USA

Hours
  
Closed now Tuesday9AM–5PMWednesday9AM–5PMThursday9AM–5PMFriday9AM–5PMSaturday9AM–5PMSunday9AM–5PMMonday9AM–5PM

Similar
  
Fort Smith Museum of History, Fort Smith Trolley Museum, Fort Smith National Cemetery, Pea Ridge National Military P, Parrot Island Waterpark

Profiles

Fort smith national historic site orientation video


Fort Smith National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Fort Smith, Arkansas along the Arkansas River.

Contents

Fort smith national historic site


Description

The park visitor center is now located in the old Barracks/Courthouse/Jail building. Exhibits in the visitor center focus on Fort Smith’s military history from 1817–1871, western expansion, Judge Isaac Parker and the federal court's impact on Indian Territory, U.S. Deputy Marshals and outlaws, Federal Indian policy, and Indian Removal including the Trail of Tears. Located on the grounds are the foundation remains of the first Fort Smith (1817–1824), the commissary building (c. 1838) and a reconstruction of the gallows used by the federal court. A walking trail along the Arkansas River includes wayside exhibits on the Trail of Tears. This was also one of the areas Bonnie and Clyde stopped at and they were killed after leaving. Land on the Oklahoma bank of the Arkansas River was authorized to be included in the National Historic Site to preserve a historic viewshed, but has not been acquired.

History

The site was established in 1961 in order to protect the remains of two 19th-century U.S. military forts, including a building which once housed the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Fort Smith was also notable as a major stop along the "Trail of Tears." It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

References

Fort Smith National Historic Site Wikipedia