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Historical Markers and War Memorials in Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith and Greenwood are both the county seat for Sebastian County
Fort Smith is in Sebastian County
Sebastian County(79) ► ADJACENT TO SEBASTIAN COUNTY Crawford County(26) ► Franklin County(10) ► Logan County(3) ► Scott County(1) ► Le Flore County, Oklahoma(29) ► Sequoyah County, Oklahoma(3) ►
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Dedicated to the memory of our comrades who entered the service of their country from Fort Smith, Arkansas and who gave their lives in the World War. — — Map (db m5544) HM
The Commissary, one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, is the oldest building in Fort Smith. Its foundation was originally a raised platform from which to shoot cannons for defending the fort. The two-story building you see today was built on that . . . — — Map (db m156898) HM
Civil War Dead
An estimated 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War between April 1861 and April 1865. As the death toll rose, the U.S. government struggled with the urgent but unplanned need to bury fallen Union . . . — — Map (db m92317) HM
Imagine spending 5 years building a home only to abandon it. That is exactly what the first Fort Smith soldiers did. They quarried rock and shaped logs to build the fort by hand. Shortly after completing it in 1824, they were reassigned to repeat . . . — — Map (db m156997) HM
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that . . . — — Map (db m114215) HM
If you had stood here in 1825, on your right would have been Arkansas Territory, and on your left, a vast domain traded to the Choctaw Nation for their ancestral lands in the east. Fort Smith’s location here at the edge of Indian country was a . . . — — Map (db m156900) HM
The building in front of you is very much as it appeared in the 1890s. First built as a military barracks, it was later converted for use as a courthouse and jail. Over time its appearance changed to accommodate different needs of the people . . . — — Map (db m59026) HM
Bass Reeves, a slave born in Arkansas and reared in Texas, rose to become one of the best known and effective deputy U.S. marshals to ride out of Fort Smith for Judge Isaac C. Parker. Recognized as one of the first African Americans commissioned as . . . — — Map (db m58046) HM
On July 27, 1864 Confederates led by Gen. Richard M. Gano surprised an outpost of the Sixth Kansas Cavalry at nearby Caldwell's Place. The Federal force was routed with a loss of 25 killed and wounded, 127 prisoners and much equipment. The . . . — — Map (db m52566) HM
In 1817, the first Fort Smith was built at Belle Point at the junction of the Poteau and Arkansas Rivers by Major William Bradford, for the mutual protection of the pioneers and Indians. He was in command until 1822. It was named in honor of . . . — — Map (db m77874) HM
"The Cherokees have been kept on a small spot, surrounded by a strong guard… obliged to live very much like brute animals… exposed to wind and rain, and herd[ed] together… like droves of hogs…” —Reverend Butrick, June 1838 . . . — — Map (db m156907) HM
The removal of the Chickasaw from their southeast homelands began in the early 1800s. Government traders who forced tribal members into debt would demand tribal lands as payment. By 1818, the Chickasaw had unwillingly yielded property in Alabama, . . . — — Map (db m156906) HM
"No part of the land granted them shall ever be embraced in any… State; but the U.S. shall forever secure said Choctaw Nation, from and against all laws except such as… may be enacted in their own National . . . — — Map (db m156905) HM
The building in front of you is very much as it appeared in the 1890s. First used as a military barracks, it was later converted for use as a courthouse and jail. Over time its appearance changed to accommodate the different needs of the people . . . — — Map (db m82354) HM WM
On April 23, 1861, the U.S. garrison at Fort Smith abandoned the post as Confederate militiamen approached. Fort Smith became an important recruiting and training center for Confederate forces in west Arkansas. Troops from Fort Smith fought at . . . — — Map (db m57916) HM
The Confederate Occupation
The War Department established Fort Smith in 1817 and occupied it until April 23, 1861. Learning that the Arkansas militia was advancing, the garrison retreated, taking arms and supplies from the fort with them. . . . — — Map (db m92307) HM
At the beginnings of the Civil War, “amid the firing of cannon and the cheers of the people,” a local newspaper reported, Arkansas State Militia raised the Confederate flag and took control of Fort Smith on April 23, 1861.
With . . . — — Map (db m59024) HM
Fort Smith was fired on only once during the Civil War. On July 31, 1864, Confederates staged a diversionary attack from across the Poteau River, hoping to capture the city of Fort Smith. Their strategy was to pull Union troops away from other city . . . — — Map (db m156983) HM
I never saw such fighting done as was done by the negro regiment…The question that negroes will fight is settled; besides they make better soldiers in every respect than any troops I have ever had under my command.—General Blunt after . . . — — Map (db m59021) HM
This statue was erected in 2012 as a result of growing awareness of the extraordinary service of Bass Reeves, an African-American former slave who became a highly respected Deputy U.S. Marshal. The deeds of African-American and Native American . . . — — Map (db m58047) HM
Standing at this spot during the second half of the Civil War you would have witnessed a very chaotic scene. The riverfront landing at the end of Garrison Avenue would have been filled with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of desperate people . . . — — Map (db m156902) HM
"Ascend the Arkansas River to the point where the Osage boundary line strikes that river… and therein erect as expeditiously as circumstances will permit a Stockade…" —Orders to Major William Bradford from Brigadier General Thomas Smith . . . — — Map (db m156993) HM
During the twenty-four years the federal executions took place in Fort Smith, eighty-seven men died on the gallows. While Judge Isaac C. Parker sat on the bench, 160 people, including four women, were sentenced to hang. Just over half received a . . . — — Map (db m59023) HM
Commemorating arrival of the first Butterfield Overland mail coach, St. Louis to San Francisco, arrived in Fort Smith at John Rogers City Hotel, North 2nd and A Streets, 2:00 a.m. September 19, 1858. — — Map (db m236790) HM
In 1888, First National Bank built its first bank building, a modest two-story brick building at South Sixth and Garrison. A few years into the 20th century, bank president Samuel McLoud ordered plans drawn up for what would be the tallest building . . . — — Map (db m92366) HM
The Fort Smith Biscuit Co began production in Fort Smith, Arkansas at the southeast corner of 5th Street and Parker Avenue in 1903. In 1934 the company constructed a production facility on this site that was connected to the other facility via a . . . — — Map (db m236839) HM
Civil War Fort Smith
In 1817, the U.S. Army sent a detachment of soldiers to Arkansas Territory to keep the peace between the Osage and Cherokee nations. They built a post on the shore of the Arkansas River and named it for Gen. Thomas A. . . . — — Map (db m92314) HM
Security has always been a concern for the U.S. military. The army designed the second Fort Smith (1838-1871) as part of a line of forts from Minnesota to Louisiana to separate the territory occupied by Native American tribes from that settled by . . . — — Map (db m59020) HM
Before automobiles or airplanes, trains were the popular way to travel. At speeds of up to 65 mph (105 km), people traveled faster and farther than ever before. Besides visiting family and friends, trains took people to new and exotic places for . . . — — Map (db m156899) HM
A cyclone, carrying death and destruction in its wake, visited Fort Smith at 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11, 1898. Out of the western skies on an unusually balmy night came first an epic show of lightning followed by heavy winds. Then with the . . . — — Map (db m92364) HM
The first Catholic church in Fort Smith was a log structure at North 3rd
and D Street. The Church of St. Patrick was dedicated March 5, 1848.
Bishop Andrew Byrne had purchased a square mile of land on the
outskirts of Fort Smith in 1847, upon . . . — — Map (db m236804) HM
Traveling mostly on foot, Stephen H. Long explored over 25,000 miles of the mid-west and northern United States. His team included artists and scientists to document natural resources. In 1817, he selected the location for the first Fort Smith. When . . . — — Map (db m156996) HM
Marble Hall, the oldest building on Garrison Avenue, was built in 1859 by Ethelbert Britton Bright. Judging from the surviving newspapers ads, his mercantile store held the very wonders of the world, steadily supplied by steamboats docking at the . . . — — Map (db m93241) HM
The Fort Smith Council was held in this building in September 1865. To establish relations following the Civil War, delegates of twelve Indian nations met with President Andrew Johnson’s representatives. Bitterly divided, Indians had fought for both . . . — — Map (db m59025) HM
Ordered from the American Car and Foundry Company in 1938, this car is one of the last heavyweight passenger cars built (181,700 pounds). Originally built as a chair car that carried 52 passengers, it was rebuilt in the 1970's to a diner bunk car . . . — — Map (db m164156) HM
Beginning in 1943 a total of 1200 all steel troop sleepers were built by Pullman Standard for the mass transport of military personnel during World War II. The cars sleep 29 soldiers and 1 porter. In 1943 the M.K.T. bought 30 troop sleepers for . . . — — Map (db m164157) HM
This tree was grown from a seed
that journeyed to the Moon and back
aboard Apollo 14 1971
Planted here on Arbor Day March 15
Bicentennial Year 1976 — — Map (db m92358) HM
The Muscogee (Creek) people are descendants of a remarkable culture that, before A.D. 1500, spanned the entire region now known as the southeastern United States. The Muscogee were not one tribe, but rather a union of several that evolved into a . . . — — Map (db m156904) HM
In 1838, John Rogers, considered the founder of the city of Fort
Smith, laid out 160 acres of his property into town lots. By 1860,
the commercial district of Fort Smith inhabited 12 square blocks
bounded by the river, North Third Street, . . . — — Map (db m236830) HM
"The walls were almost hidden by a wealth of vines and foliage, and the enclosed space was as green as nature and care could make it. Beautiful flower beds were kept well tended by the soldiers and added greatly to the beauty of the . . . — — Map (db m58615) HM
This building, on the N.W. bastion of the wall, was the commissary of the fort. Built in 1839, used until 1871 when the fort was abandoned as a military post. From 1861-65 it served as a hospital, guard house, and refuge, now a museum.
Erected . . . — — Map (db m57921) HM
The old part of this building was the Barracks of the Fort, 1840-1871; Federal Court and Jail, 1872-1887; presided over by Judge I.C. Parker, 1875-1887. — — Map (db m57922) HM
Two hundred and fifty years ago the river you see here flowed through the homeland of one of the most powerful Indian nations in the center of the continent. They called themselves "Wah-Zha-Zhe." Early French explorers spelled their name . . . — — Map (db m156908) HM
In the spring of 1821, Osage leader Bad-Tempered-Buffalo appeared across the Arkansas River with 400 warriors in war paint. He and seven warriors crossed the river requesting gunpowder and permission to hunt on Cherokee land. Acting fort commander, . . . — — Map (db m156998) HM
This facade is all the remains of the five story building occupied from 1907 to 1955 by Reynolds - Davis Wholesale Grocery Company. The building subsequently served Checker Transfer & Storage Company from 1957 thru 1988 as well as other tenants . . . — — Map (db m57919) HM
The emigrant train of Forty-Niners, 5,000 strong, set out from Fort Smith in April, 1849, with an escort of United States [Army] Regulars under the command of Captain R. B. Marcy. — — Map (db m92353) HM
The permanent seat of justice in Sebastian County, created in 1851 was located on a site to which was given the name of Greenwood. In 1861 another court house was erected at Ft. Smith and since then the county has maintained two seats of justice. . . . — — Map (db m92349) HM
The Seminole people originated in Florida from the mixing of many indigenous groups throughout the southeast. Encroachment by white settlers and slave-hunters onto tribal territory started the Seminole wars in 1817. Sporadic warfare continued until . . . — — Map (db m156903) HM
In 1824, Congress directed that a military road would be constructed
between Fort Smith in the Arkansas Territory and Fort Towson in
Indian Territory, a distance of 190 miles. Captain B.L.E Bonneville, for
whom Bonneville Dam and the Bonneville . . . — — Map (db m236845) HM
When army engineers originally designed the second Fort Smith in 1838, they planned for it to withstand attack. A key feature in achieving this goal was a stone wall about twelve feet high and from two to three feet thick. This wall surrounded the . . . — — Map (db m58434) HM
This is the oldest building still standing in Fort Smith. Originally built as part of a larger fortification, over the years its appearance and use changed dramatically. The building held supplies used by explorers and soldiers, played a crucial . . . — — Map (db m58493) HM
In 1870, ground was broken for the three-story Fishback Block on the site of Jeremiah Kannady's blacksmith shop which manufactured Bowie knives for the Confederate Army. The builder, future Gov. William Meade Fishback (1831-1903), named the 7,000 . . . — — Map (db m57918) HM
The U.S. Army built the original flagstaff at the second Fort Smith in 1846. As with many western military posts, the flagstaff stood tall so that its flag could be seen for miles. To attain a height of nearly 100 feet, the army joined two poles in . . . — — Map (db m58432) HM
With the largest criminal jurisdiction of any federal court at the time, the Western District of Arkansas handled an extraordinary number of murder and rape cases. When a jury found defendants guilty in these capital cases, federal law mandated the . . . — — Map (db m59022) HM
The guardhouse, constructed in 1849, was a focal point of daily activity at the second Fort Smith. Not only did the men assigned to guard detail operate out of this building, but the officer of the day, who was responsible for the daily business of . . . — — Map (db m58132) HM
Ten years before the outbreak of the Civil War, the Old Red Mill stood on the future site of the New Theatre. The mill was used as a hospital during the Civil War, was damaged by the 1898 cyclone and finally disappeared around 1908. On the back . . . — — Map (db m92362) HM
You are now standing on what was once Officer’s Row at the second Fort Smith. From 1846 to 1865, two large buildings stood on the western edge of the parade ground and provided housing for officers and their families. Unlike the cramped quarters of . . . — — Map (db m58618) HM
For more than thirty years during the mid-1800s, soldiers drilled on the large parade ground before you. Flanked by the officer’s quarters to the right and the enlisted men’s barracks on the left, the parade ground was the center of life at the . . . — — Map (db m58125) HM
From 1836 to 1878, the log cabin of Jeremiah and Sophia Kannady stood on the present-day 500 block of Garrison Avenue. In that cabin Kannady's uncle John Rogers, founder of the city, died in 1860. In 1877, Kannady sold land around his cabin to make . . . — — Map (db m93253) HM
In 1884, by an act of Congress, secured by
Congressman John H. Rogers, later United
States Judge of the Western District of
Arkansas, more than 200 acres of the
government reservation was donated to
the Fort Smith school district. — — Map (db m236843) HM
This marks the last encampment of the Cherokee Indians on "The Trail of Tears," from their ancestral homes in the South to the land allotted them in the Indian Territory. — — Map (db m92345) HM
After the U.S. Army closed Fort Smith in 1871, the guardhouse served the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. It remained in use as a jail, detaining primarily women suspected or convicted of federal crimes until 1888. At that time, . . . — — Map (db m58128) HM
Military Conflicts in U.S. History
American Revolution (1775-1783)
War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Mexican War (1846-1848)
Civil War (1861-1865)
Indian Wars (Colonial Era to 1890)
Spanish American War (1898)
The Boxer Rebellion . . . — — Map (db m92338) WM
AMVETS in conjunction with the
Citizens of the area
dedicated this carillon as a
living memorial to
Arkansas-Oklahoma Veterans
who served their country honorably
for the Cause of Freedom
November 11, 1986
Fort Smith National . . . — — Map (db m92342) WM
This monument is dedicated to the brave sons of Sebastian County, Arkansas, who, in the defense of freedom in South Vietnam, made the supreme sacrifice. In a controversial, complex and diverse struggle, they answered the call of their country in a . . . — — Map (db m92360) WM
In December 1878, Teddy Vogel and Michael C. Wallace bought the old rough hewn log store building and home that had been been constructed on this lot circa 1845 by Samuel Boothe. They razed the log structure and began building a stout, stone . . . — — Map (db m93246) HM
The first mention of this property is from 1838 when it was part of the brickyard that manufactured bricks to build the second Fort Smith. In 1877 the City Hotel was built here. In 1897, identical buildings were constructed to house the W.J. Murphy . . . — — Map (db m57917) HM
Founded in 1817 by the U.S. Army to contain a volatile Indian feud, Fort Smith later served as a major supply depot for western military posts, and finally as headquarters of the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. For over 80 years, . . . — — Map (db m59027) HM
By 1833, a small community had developed next to the fort. Out of the six shops, five were taverns. As the fort's commanding officer, Captain Stuart's responsibilities included stopping the illegal sale of whiskey to Indians and soldiers. After two . . . — — Map (db m156901) HM
Regiment of Riflemen 1817-1822 After serving with distinction in the War of 1812, the elite Regiment of Riflemen established Fort Smith in 1817. Their mission was to promote peace between the Cherokee and Osage. The regiment merged with the 7th . . . — — Map (db m156986) HM
Born in Fort Smith Ark. Feb. 8, 1911
Graduate U.S.M.A. June 1933
Assistant Comdr. 10th Mountain Div.
Died in Po Valley Italy Apr. 30, 1945
Organized First Ranger Bn.
CO Ranger Force - Tunisia-Sicily-Italy
1942-1944
Comdr. 179th . . . — — Map (db m92348) HM WM
