By Ann Terry Hill
 

Fort Smith National Historic Site

There is an old saying "There is no Sunday west of St. Louis and no God west of Ft. Smith." Northwestern Arkansas, home to Fort Smith, may seem civilized today, but reminders of its wild and wooly history remain and the town speaks of a time when it was the drop-off point to Indian Territory (now Oklahma.) Desperadoes found safety in the Territory, providing, of course, the U.S> Marshals based in Ft. Smith, didn't bring them back to face justice and house them in the jail known as 'Hell on the Border.'

 

Belle Grove Historical District

The Fort Smith National Historical site includes the jail, the hanging gallows and the restored courtroom. The personalities of long ago characters like Cherokee Bill and Hangin' Judge Parker linger in the air.. Their ghost- like presence hangs there and brings life to the historic site that makes Ft. Smith a living history lesson.

The National Historic Site includes the remains of the two frontier forts and the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. It tells the story of Fort Smith as a military outpost and the seat of law and order in the Wild West. It commemorates a significant phase of America's westward expansion and stands as a reminder of 80 turbulent years in the history of federal Indian policy. The Trail of Tears marker speaks of the thousands of displaced Indians who were moved from their eastern homelands to the Indian Territory during this period.

Some of the more famous outlaws of the West at one time or another were incarcerated in the jail including the James, Dalton and Younger Gangs. Belle Starr, Cherokee Bill and the Rufus Buck Gang. It is said the stench from the jail was so strong, it rose through the ceiling and permeated Judge Parker's courtroom directly above. The judge presided over this courtroom from 1875 to 1896. He came to be known as 'The Hangin' Judge since he sentenced more men to death than any other judge. In reality, of the 13,500 cases he ruled over, only 79 were actually hanged.
 

Fort Smith Visitors Center  "Miss Laura's"

Carolyn Joyce, sales manager of the Visitor's Center,housed in the elegantly restored brothel, Miss Laura's, often portrays Miss Laura, Fort Smith's most successful madam. In vintage costume, and many double entende asides, Joyce immediately takes visitors to the era when debauchery was the norm. One of her favorite welcome's is "Our Brothel Still Takes Care of Visitors!" Miss Laura's Players present a comedy spoof on this early life, and can be hired for on-site entertainment.

In 2007 Fort Smith was selected as the location for National U.S. Marshal Museum to be completed by 2011. The structure will sit on the right bank of the Arkansas River, behind Miss Laura's and across the river from Oklahoma where so many of the Marshals launched their foray's into Indian Territory in an effort to bring justice, law and order in a time when the man quickest to draw a gun was the usual legal decider.
 

"Miss Laura's" Medicine Show

For a step back in to more recent history, visit the barbershop at nearby Fort Chaffee and if you're adventuresome, get an 'Elvis' cut---the same style as its most famous patron got as he enlisted in the Army.

WHEN YOU GO
Start your visit at Fort Smith Convention & Visitor's Bureau (now Miss Laura's Visitor Center) a former elegantly restored bordello. http://www.fortsmith.org

Don't miss:
Fort Smith National Historic Site
Belle Grove Historic District
Fort Smith Museum of History
US National Cemetery
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Overlook
 

2010

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