During the 1820s Presbyterians from Oklahoma established the Dwight Mission in the Russellville area. This undertaking was the largest experiment that the Oklahoman Presbyterians would attempt to achieve. The goal was to convert and educate the Cherokee in the related area. There were many obstacles in the way that would make this journey difficult for everyone.
The Pope County Militia War was an action involving several families and local elected officials during the Reconstruction years in Pope County, Arkansas. While these historic actions stand the test of memory now, this small county war stories should not be forgotten. With times of conflict and strife during reconstruction, it is no shock that federal reconstruction workers would soon send deep divides in the small rural county just to the north of the Arkansas River. While these historic locations no longer stand, we can see the Pope County Courthouse's current site, which during the time of these events would have been located in Dover.
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This local history museum preserves and shares the history of Pottsville within the former location of Potts Inn, a hotel constructed in the 1850s by Kirkbride and Pamelia Potts.
From the years 1817 to 1828, Council Oaks Park was a Cherokee council site. At this location, many meetings took place between representatives of the Arkansas Cherokees and the United States government. One important meeting occurred on June 24, 1823 between several Cherokee chiefs, led by Principal Chief John Jolly, and Robert Crittenden, the Acting Governor of the Arkansas Territory. This council meeting concerned the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation in the Arkansas Territory. The result of this negotiation was that both parties wrote letters to John C. Calhoun, the Secretary of War, appealing for his help.
By 1865, though the Civil War had begun to wane, battles and skirmishes continued to unfold as the Confederacy executed its final attempts to withstand the Union. While the Union ultimately won the war and Reconstruction was already in motion to some degree, the spirit of soldiers on both sides can be seen in these last efforts to stand their ground, as they did at Dardanelle.
The Logan County Jail was built in 1903, on the northwest side of the town square. The jail section was built so it was above ground. The warden and his family lived in one section of the building while the jail was in the other section. The jail section had its own entrance apart from the warden and his family.This landmark is considered a national site, where the last man in Arkansas was hung.The last hanging was Arthur Tillman, which they used the gallows, on July 15, 1914.
During the Civil War, Fort Smith and Sebastian County primarily supported the Confederacy, and the town was occupied by both United States and Confederates forces. Many Confederate dead were buried in the post's cemetery, which was designated as Fort Smith National Cemetery in 1867. In the 1870s, a small monument was erected in the cemetery to several Confederate generals, but it was destroyed by a tornado in 1898. A local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy formed shortly after and raised over $2,300 to erect a large replacement monument honoring Confederate dead. The United States government refused to allow the Confederate monument on cemetery grounds, so the city allowed the monument to be erected on courthouse grounds. It was dedicated on September 10, 1903 to much fanfare. In the summer of 2020, a local petition circulated calling for the monuments removal, but the city has yet to take any course of action regarding the monument.
Fort Smith National Cemetery is located at the site of a local cemetery that was originally created in the early 1800s. Over 13,000 soldiers and some notable civilians have been buried at Fort Smith National Cemetery. There are multiple Civil War generals and over 1000 unidentified soldiers buried in the cemetery which continues to accept new internments. \
In the early 1830’s in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida, over 100,000 Native Americans lived on land that had been owned by them for generations. By the end of the decade, however, few Native Americans lived in Southeastern U.S. Due to the valuable land that they lived on, European Americans desired such territory for the cotton that it could grow. Eventually the Federal Government would step in, forcing the Native Americans to leave into their now designated “Indian Territory.” The long and deadly journey along the Mississippi River would come to be known as the Trail of Tears, and in 1936 a monument would be created at one of the last resting camps of the traveling men and women along the trail.
The Fort Smith Museum of History was established in 1910 and offers exhibits that interpret the history of Native Americans, early settlers of European descent, and the growth of the community in the 19th and 20th century. Highlights of the museum include the courtroom, collections of military memorabilia, exhibits related to agriculture and business, and a collection of radios and other items related to the history of technology. The historic trolley, which is part of the Fort Smith Trolley Museum, stops right outside the museum to provide rides for visitors between the two museums.
The Fort Smith National Historic Site covers around 80 years of Fort Smith, Arkansas history from 1817 to 1896. This site primarily focuses on the years in which Judge Isaac C. Parker served the Federal Court of the Western District of Arkansas, 1875-1896. This site includes an indoor museum, several outdoor exhibits, and a walking trail that leads visitors to the foundations of the First Fort Smith. This National Park Site is a great place to take friends and family to learn more about the history of the town.
The federal courthouse is not a tourist attraction and is still in operation. This was the courthouse where famous Judge Isaac Parker practiced law. Isaac Parker is famous for bringing law to the furthest extents of American territory(at that time) and notorious for his use of hanging as a punishment. Hence his moniker 'The Hanging Judge.'
This statue is of a local African American named Bass Reeves. He was the first African America west of the Mississippi River to become a U.S. Marshal. He served under the jurisdiction of Judge Isaac C. Parker. This 25-foot statue depicts Reeves on horseback, with a rifle in his hand, and a dog at his side, as they head into what used to be Indian Territory.
The United States Marshals Museum was located in Laramie, Washington until 2002. In 2007, the federal government selected Fort Smith as the new location of the museum and as of December 2019, the museum is still being constructed. This museum will feature exhibits that share the history of the United States Marshals with artifacts and interpretive panels with the goal of expanding knowledge about the history of federal law enforcement.
The anchor of the Belle Grove Historic District, Clayton House belonged to William Henry Harrison Clayton and now serves as a small museum operated by the Fort Smith Heritage Foundation. The museum interprets the history of Fort Smith at the turn-of-the-century through exhibits as well as guided tours, special events, and themed fundraisers that are held throughout the year such as the "Gaslight Gala." The Belle Grove Historic District is a 22-square block area on the northwestern side of Fort Smith, Arkansas that included numerous homes that date back to the late 18th century.
Built in 1816, The Fairview Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Van Buren, Arkansas. This cemetery is home to the graves of early settlers to the region and, most significantly, Confederate soldiers that fought during the American Civil War. The Confederate troops even have their own section inside the cemetery. The burial of individuals at this cemetery began around 1846 after the land donation by John Drennen. There are around 460 soldiers who are buried at this cemetery.
Portions of this historic courthouse date back to 1840 when the original building was constructed. While much of that structure was destroyed in an 1876 fire, some of the original building survived and were part of an 1890 expansion of the historic courthouse. This building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as being the oldest active courthouse west of the Mississippi River. On the grounds of the courthouse stands another historic building, the Albert Pike Schoolhouse. This schoolhouse was built in 1820 and the future Confederate General Albert Pike taught students here before he moved to Little Rock.
The Drennen-Scott House was the residence of Van Buren co-founder John Drennen and his descendants. This house is owned by the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and used by the Historical Interpretation Program as a way to provide students with real-life experience in public history. As such, the house is open to the public and offers a visitor center.
The 150-acre Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center includes an interpretive center and trail system connecting the twelve mounds on the site. The mounds were part of a ceremonial complex created between 600 and 1450 C.E. It became part of the larger Mississippian Culture, with trade networks and cultural influences spanning from California to the East Coast. Offering tours led by professional archaeologists, rotating exhibits, and nature and cultural trails, it is the only American Indian archaeological site in the state of Oklahoma which is open to the public [2; 4].
It is believed that Sequoyah was born between 1770 and 1776 in the village of Tuskegee. No one knows who Sequoyah's father was, but some believe that he was Nathaniel Gist, a fur trader from Virginia. Facts concerning his mother are also skewed, it is believed that his mother was either the daughter or niece of a Cherokee Chief in the Red Paint Clan, her name was Wut-teh. Sequoyah did not have any sibling and was raised solely by his mother. While growing up Sequoyah never learnt English, him and his mother only spoke in Cherokee. When Sequoyah was a child he was very intelligent and was able to work well with his hands. As he got older he picked up the trade of silversmithing producing items with silver coins that trappers and traders had with them. After his mother's death it is believed that Sequoyah took over her trading business. He started drinking alcohol and soon let the majority of his farm and the business crumble in order to stay drunk. Once he realized that he was wasting the majority of his life he began to draw and started to work as a Blacksmith. Sequoyah was able to establish a self-run business by repairing items and selling the ones that he had created. Many people purchased the bridle bits and spurs because he decorated them using silver. During the War of 1812, Sequoyah along with other Cherokee Indians enlisted in the United States army in order to fight the British alongside General Andrew Jackson. Prior to enlisting Sequoyah had moved to the state of Alabama. The daughter of a Cherokee Chief, Wut-teh, was his mother. During the War of 1812 Sequoyah and other Cherokee Indians enlisted to fight alongside General Andrew Jackson. Sequoyah was impressed by the written aspect of the English language often referring to their correspondence as “talking leaves.” He realized that this was a way in which people with a great amount of distance between them could communicate. The Cherokee nation believed that writing was a form of sorcery; however he did not follow these explanations. By the year 1809 Sequoyah began working on a system of writing for the Cherokee language. The first year he spent working on creating a character for each word in the language. This original copy is believed to have been burnt by his wife. After a few failed attempts Sequoyah created a system of eighty six characters, some of which were Latin letters that he had seen in a book. Sequoyah's language was accepted by the Cherokee Nation in 1825. He moved to a spot outside of present day Sallisaw, Oklahoma were he built Sequoyah's cabin. This cabin was his home for the rest of his life.
Created between 1996 and 1999, this local history museum preserves and interprets the early history of Oklahoma from its earliest Native inhabitants, and the arrival of Cherokee and other tribes from the American Southeast, the period of European settlement, all the way to the present. Krebs began as a coal mining town in the early 1900s--a history that is preserved by the local history society and museum. The museum's establishment was largely due to the efforts of the late Eugene Defrange, a leading resident and a passionate supporter of education and history.
Located in the historic home of Lieutenant Governor James Jackson McAlester, this local history museum preserves and shares the history of the town that shares the McAlester family name. The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Famous as a hideout for outlaws, this small state park in the hills of southeast Oklahoma covers over eight thousand acres. The park includes a visitors center and many markers and exhibits dedicated to the history of the famous outlaws who evaded law enforcement by hiding in these woods. The park has many family-friendly amenities such as fishing hunting hiking horse trails camping, cave tours, and cliff climbing.
This Tour is a Thematic Tour or Heritage Trail.
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While the 1969 novel "True Grit" by Charles Portis is a work of fiction, Portis's Western is deeply researched and reflects realities of life in Arkansas and Indian Territory (later Oklahoma) in the 1870s and 1880s. This tour seeks to bring the novel to life for visitors along the True Grit Trail.
