Fort Smith National Historic Site

Fort Smith National Historic Site
part of historic Fort Smith
Location	Sebastian County, Arkansas & Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, USA
Nearest city	Fort Smith, Arkansas
Area	75 acres (0.3 km²)
Established	September 13, 1961
Visitors	74,400 (in 2005)
Governing body	National Park Service

Significant dates

Fort Smith
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
U.S. National Historic Site


Location	Fort Smith, Arkansas
NRHP reference No.	66000202
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966^[1]
Designated NHLD	December 19, 1960^[2]

Fort Smith National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located primarily in Fort Smith, Arkansas along the Arkansas River, and also along the opposite bank of the river near Moffett, Oklahoma.

The site was established in 1961 in order to protect the remains of two nineteenth-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.^[2]^[3]

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.

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
^ ^a ^b "Fort Smith". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2007-09-26.
^ Frank B. Sarls, Jr. (December 10, 1958) National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings: Fort Smith (First and Second Sites) and Judge Parker Courtroom, National Park Service and Accompanying 4 photos, exterior, from 1940 and undated.

External links

Official site: Fort Smith National Historic Site

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Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

Protected areas of Oklahoma

Federal

National Historic Sites	Fort Smith Washita Battlefield
National Forests	Ouachita
National Recreation Areas	Chickasaw
USFS National Recreation Areas	Winding Stair Mountain
National Scenic Areas	Beech Creek
National Grasslands	Black Kettle Rita Blanca
National Memorials	Oklahoma City
National Wildlife Refuges	Deep Fork Little River Optima Ozark Plateau Salt Plains Sequoyah Tishomingo Washita Wichita Mountains

State

State Parks	Alabaster Caverns Arrowhead Beavers Bend Black Mesa Boiling Springs Cherokee Landing Clayton Lake Fort Cobb Foss Gloss Mountain Great Plains Great Salt Plains Greenleaf Keystone Lake Eufaula Lake Murray Lake Texoma Lake Thunderbird Lake Wister Little Sahara McGee Creek Natural Falls Osage Hills Quartz Mountain Raymond Gary Robbers Cave Roman Nose Sequoyah Sequoyah Bay Talimena Tenkiller
Grand Lake State Park areas	Bernice Cherokee Disney/Little Blue Honey Creek Spavinaw Twin Bridges
Wildlife Management Areas	Altus-Lugert Arbuckle Springs Atoka Thomas A. Bamberger Sr. Barren Fork Beaver River Beaver River - McFarland Unit Blue River Broken Bow Hal and Fern Cooper Honobia Creek McCurtain County Pine Creek Pushmataha
Other	Arcadia Conservation Education Area Atoka Public Hunting Area Black Mesa Nature Preserve Hugo Lake
Oklahoma Historical Society	Cabin Creek Battlefield Fort Gibson Historic Site Fort Supply Historic Site Fort Towson Historic Site Honey Springs Battlefield Hunter’s Home Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center White Hair Memorial Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch
Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office	Manages land for revenue to fund schools

Local

Former state parks	Adair Park Beaver Dunes Park Boggy Depot Park (Choctaw Nation) Brushy Lake Park Crowder Lake University Park Dripping Springs Park Heavener Runestone Park Lake Eucha Park Okmulgee Park Red Rock Canyon Adventure Snowdale (closed) Wah-Sha-She Park Walnut Creek (closed)

Protected areas in Arkansas

Federal

National Park	Hot Springs
National Historic Sites	Fort Smith Little Rock Central High School President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home
National Forests	Ouachita Ozark–St. Francis
National Memorial	Arkansas Post
National Military Park	Pea Ridge
National River	Buffalo
National Wildlife Refuges	Bald Knob Big Lake Cache River Felsenthal Holla Bend Logan Cave Overflow Pond Creek Wapanocca White River
Wilderness Areas	Big Lake Black Fork Mountain Buffalo National River Caney Creek Dry Creek East Fork Flatside Hurricane Creek Leatherwood Poteau Mountain Richland Creek Upper Buffalo
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Big Piney Creek Cossatot Hurricane Creek Little Missouri Mulberry North Sylamore Creek Richland Creek

State

State Parks	Arkansas Post Museum Bull Shoals-White River Cane Creek Conway Cemetery Cossatot River Crater of Diamonds Crowley's Ridge Daisy Davidsonville DeGray Lake Delta Heritage Trail Devil's Den Hampson Archeological Museum Herman Davis Historic Washington Hobbs Jacksonport Jenkins' Ferry Battleground Lake Hamilton and Lake Catherine Lake Charles Lake Chicot Lake Dardanelle Lake Fort Smith Lake Frierson Lake Ouachita Lake Poinsett Logoly Louisiana Purchase Lower White River Museum Mammoth Spring Marks' Mills Battleground Millwood Mississippi River Moro Bay Mount Magazine Mount Nebo Museum of Natural Resources Ozark Folk Center Parkin Mounds Petit Jean Pinnacle Mountain Plantation Agriculture Museum Plum Bayou Mounds Poison Springs Battleground Powhatan Prairie Grove Battlefield Queen Wilhelmina South Arkansas Arboretum Village Creek White Oak Lake Withrow Springs Woolly Hollow
State Forest	Poison Springs State Forest
Wildlife Management Areas	List