Fort Smith is the third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, ArkansasOklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents that encompasses the Arkansas counties of Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian, and the Oklahoma counties of LeFlore and Sequoyah.
Fort Smith lies on the ArkansasOklahoma state border, situated in the Arkansas Valley at the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, also known as Belle Point. Fort Smith was established as a western frontier military post in 1817, when it was also a center of fur trading. The city developed there. Strategically located between the Ozarks to the north and the Ouachita Mountains to the south, it became well known as a base for migrants' settling of the "Wild West" and for its law enforcement heritage, as it was the hub for white law enforcement of the adjacent Indian Territory.
The city government is led by Mayor George McGill (who in 2018 was elected as the city's mayor (first African American in its history), and a city Board of Directors composed of three members elected at-large and four members elected by ward.
No evidence indicates permanent indigenous settlements at the time of European contact in what became Fort Smith. In southern Fort Smith, a platform mound known as the Cavanaugh Mound exists in isolation and may have served as a vantage point from which the Spiro Mounds in present-day Oklahoma could be seen in earlier centuries.
Hernando de Sotos 1541 expedition into Arkansas may have reached as far west as the Fort Smith area. Place names such as Poteau, Belle Point, and Massard Prairie suggest later activity by French trappers who used the Arkansas River and its tributaries. The fertile Arkansas River Valley attracted early settlers, and Belle Point, a river bluff near the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, provided a defensible location and broad visibility to the west.
In 1803, the United States acquired the region through the Louisiana Purchase. While the Lewis and Clark Expedition explored northern portions of the territory, the Pike Expedition of 1806 surveyed the southern areas along the Arkansas River.
In November 1817, U.S. Army troops established the first Fort Smith at Belle Point. The post was named for General Thomas Adams Smith, commander of the United States Army Rifle Regiment, although he never visited the site. The fort was initially intended to maintain peace between the Osage and Cherokee peoples. A small civilian settlement developed nearby. Major William Bradford commanded the post until its abandonment in 1824, when the Army relocated west to Fort Gibson.
John Rogers, an Army sutler and land speculator, purchased former government lands and promoted civilian growth. During the 1830s, amid federal Indian removal policies, the Army returned to Fort Smith and expanded the post. From this base, troops enforced the forced relocation of Southeastern tribes, including the Choctaw and Cherokee, to Indian Territory. The Cherokee later referred to this migration as the Trail of Tears. Many displaced people temporarily settled in Fort Smith and Van Buren.
Fort Smith served as a military and supply center during the MexicanAmerican War (and as an outfitting point for westward migrants during the California Gold Rush. One of the earliest overland wagon trains to California departed from Fort Smith in 1849. That same year, St. Andrews College was established, though it closed by 1860.
Sebastian County, Arkansas was created in 1851. In 1858, Fort Smith became a division center for the Butterfield Overland Mail and a junction for routes connecting to Memphis, Tennessee.
During the American Civil War, Confederate forces occupied Fort Smith until Union troops under General Frederick Steele captured it following the Battle of Devil's Backbone on September 1, 1863. Although Confederate raids continued, the Union Army retained control until 1865. The city became a refuge for formerly enslaved people, Unionists, and war refugees. Enslaved people were legally freed under the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Federal troops permanently withdrew from the fort in 1871.
After the war, Fort Smith hosted the Fort Smith Conference of 1865, which addressed relations between the federal government and tribes that had allied with the Confederacy. Military farm colonies were also established to support displaced populations.
In 1874, W. H. H. Clayton was appointed U.S. Attorney for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas by President Ulysses S. Grant. Clayton, with support from Grant and Senator Powell Clayton, secured the appointment of Judge Isaac C. Parker in 1875.
Parker served until 1896 and became known as the "Hanging Judge". He sentenced 160 people to death, with 79 executions carried out. His courthouse is now part of the Fort Smith National Historic Site, noted as the location where more executions were conducted by the U.S. government than anywhere else in American history. Parker worked closely with African-American deputy marshal Bass Reeves.
The late nineteenth century saw rapid growth, aided by railroad expansion. In 1890, Sebastian County established a poor farm near the city, now marked by the Elmwood Poor Farm Cemetery. A tornado in 1898 killed more than fifty residents.
Between 1907 and 1924, Fort Smith became one of the few U.S. cities to legalize and regulate prostitution in a designated district. Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in public facilities and transportation. On March 23, 1912, Sanford Lewis, an African American man, was lynched by a mob. Several police officers were later convicted for failing to intervene.
Natural gas discoveries and manufacturing, particularly glass and furniture, expanded the local economy. In 1917, telephone operators initiated a strike that escalated into a nine-day general strike. In 1922, an automobile bridge was completed across the Arkansas River.
During the Great Depression, Fort Smith was affected by economic hardship. The New Deal brought public works projects, including construction of Lake Fort Smith. In 1941, the Army established Fort Chaffee east of the city. Activated in 1942, it trained armored divisions and housed German prisoners of war.
Fort Chaffee was intermittently activated after the war. KFSM-TV, Arkansass second television station, began broadcasting in 1953. Manufacturing expanded during the 1950s and 1960s, with companies such as Baldor Electric and ABF Freight System growing alongside Whirlpools appliance factory, which opened as Norge in 1962.
Fort Smith pursued gradual school desegregation, avoiding the level of conflict seen elsewhere but maintaining de facto inequalities. Population and industrial growth continued into the 1970s.
In 1975, Fort Chaffee served as a resettlement center for Vietnamese refugees. Additional Hispanic and Laotian communities settled in subsequent decades, establishing religious and cultural institutions.
On April 21, 1996, a tornado struck Fort Smith and Van Buren, killing four people and damaging much of downtown Fort Smith.
In early 1988, Fort Smith hosted the Fort Smith sedition trial involving fourteen right-wing extremists charged primarily with seditious conspiracy and related crimes, including alleged plots to overthrow the U.S. government and assassinate a federal judge and an FBI agent. Prosecutors presented extensive evidence and testimony describing a nationwide network of white supremacist groups allegedly involved in robberies, bombings, and planned attacks on federal institutions. Despite the scope of the case and testimony from nearly 200 witnesses, the jury acquitted all defendants of all charges on April 7, 1988. The verdict prompted widespread debate, with critics viewing it as a setback in efforts to combat organized extremism and supporters framing it as a defense of free speech.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.6 square miles (of which 61.7 square miles (is land and 3.9 square miles ((is water.
Fort Smith has a humid subtropical climate with generally mild winters and hot, humid summers. The monthly mean temperature ranges from 40.4F (in January to 83.1F (in July; on average, the high stays at or below freezing on 3.8 days, reaches 90F (on 77.8 days, and 100F (on 11.1 days annually. The average first and last occurrences for freezing temperatures are November 6 and March 25, respectively. Extreme temperatures range from 15F (on February 12, 1899 to 115F (on August 3, 2011. Fort Smith is situated near an area known as Tornado Alley in the central United States. The city has been struck by three major tornadoes, which occurred in the years of 1898, 1927 and 1996.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 89,142 people, 36,210 households, and 22,349 families residing in the city.
As of the 2010 census, there were 86,209 people, 34,352 households, and 21,367 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,391.2 inhabitants per square mile (There were 37,899 housing units at an average density of 612.3 per square mile (The racial makeup of the city was 69.3% White, 9.0% Black or African American, 1.8% Native American, 5.3% Asian (Vietnamese, 1.7% Laotian, 0.3% Asian Indian, 0.2% Filipino, 0.1% Korean, 0.1% Chinese, 0.1% Hmong, 0.1% Pakistani), 0.1% Pacific Islander, 10.3% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. 16.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race (Mexican, 2.2% Salvadoran, 0.4% Guatemalan, 0.3% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Honduran, 0.1% Cuban, 0.1% Peruvian, 0.1% Colombian).
In language, Fort Smith has more than ten Asian languages spoken by more than two percent of the population. Also, the increase in immigration from Latin American countries in the late 20th century increased the number of residents who speak Spanish. 7.10% reported speaking Spanish at home, while 3.38% speak Vietnamese and Lao, and 2.50% speak Tagalog.
In 2000, there were 32,398 households, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,157, and the median income for a family was $41,012. Males had a median income of $29,799 versus $22,276 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,994. About 12.1% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
Fort Smith has long been a regional manufacturing center, with major plants located in the city operated by Rheem, Trane, Georgia-Pacific, Gerber, Kraft Heinz Company-Planters Peanuts, Mars Petcare, Umarex USA, Graphic Packaging, International Paper, Pernod Ricard-USA, and many others.
Fort Smith is home to several corporations, including ABB Motors & Mechanical, ArcBest and poultry company OK Foods.
According to the city's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Various television programs and movies have been filmed in Fort Smith, including The Blue and The Gray (A Soldier's Story (Biloxi Blues (Trespass and Tuskegee Airmen (are multiple museums in Fort Smith, located primarily in the downtown area and the Chaffee Crossing Historic District.
Fort Smith has an active music scene. There are frequent live performances in the downtown area by local and national Jazz, Blues, Country, Americana and Rock bands.Local bands regularly frequent the riverfront area highlighting the river valley's finest.
As the third largest city in Arkansas, Fort Smith offers many activities and attractions. Fort Smith's theater and event venues regularly host major concerts and touring theater companies.
Fort Smith is the main shopping destination of Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma. Central Mall is the city's largest indoor shopping center in terms of area.
Some notable shopping locations in the city of Fort Smith are:
In addition to sports teams sponsored by Fort Smith Public Schools and University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, Fort Smith has several independent recreational sports programs and annual tournaments administered by local organizations:
The city has one major university that is part of the University of Arkansas System. The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith was founded in 1928 as an extension of the Fort Smith Public School system, with the superintendent, James William Ramsey, acting as the college president and the high school principal as dean. Known originally as Fort Smith Junior College, the institution operated within the Fort Smith public school system until 1950, when the school was incorporated as a private, nonprofit institution with its own governing board. In September 1952, the college moved from borrowed facilities in the high school to its current site, initially occupying 15 acres (1966, the institution's name was changed from Fort Smith Junior College to Westark Junior College and in 1972, it was renamed Westark Community College, indicating the larger area to be served and reflecting the more comprehensive mission.
The name of the college was changed yet again in February 1998 to Westark College, more accurately portraying the role and scope of the institution.
On December 15, 2000, the Board of Trustees of Westark College entered into an agreement with the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas to merge with the University of Arkansas System as a four-year institution. In 2001, the Sebastian County electorate voted to support the merger. A formal request to change affiliation status to that of a bachelor's degree-granting institution under the name of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith was submitted to the Higher Learning Commission in August 2001 and approved by the Institutional Actions Council on November 19, 2001.
The merger, which became official on January 1, 2002, endorsed the concept of UA-Fort Smith as a unique university, one that offers applied and traditional baccalaureate degree programs, one- and two-year associate and technical programs, and noncredit business and industry training programs. While the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is the city's only state supported institution of higher learning.
In addition to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith (the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (a private, non-profit institution, welcomed its inaugural class in August 2017. Graduates of ARCOM receive a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (degree.
The public schools in the majority of Fort Smith, as well as a section of Barling, are operated by the Fort Smith School District. Currently, the district includes 26 schools. During the 20192020 school year, the district had an enrollment of more than 14,748 students. It has 2 high schools, 4 middle schools, 19 elementary schools, and 1 alternative learning center.
Fort Smith public schools provide education from kindergarten through the 12th grade, as do some private Protestant schools. Catholic parochial schools offer education through the ninth grade.
Middle Schools in Fort Smith include Chaffin Middle School, Ramsey Middle School, Kimmons Middle School, and Darby Middle School.Private schools covering the same grade range include Trinity Catholic School, Union Christian Academy, and Northside Christian Academy.
High schools in Fort Smith include the public Northside High School and Southside High School, along with the private Union Christian Academy and Northside Christian Academy.
Some portions of Fort Smith in the south are zoned to Greenwood School District.
Fort Smith previously had a Catholic grade school for black children, St. John the Baptist School; it closed in 1968.
The Southwest Times Record is the largest newspaper in the city, as well as the region. It is owned by Gannett. The Hispanos Unidos is the only Spanish-language publication in the region.[citation needed] Other publications in the Fort Smith area include Entertainment Fort Smith and Do South Magazine.
AM radio Stations in the Fort Smith area include:
FM Radio Stations in the Fort Smith area include:
Television stations in the Fort Smith area include:
Fort Smith is a major transportation hub for the surrounding region. It sits at the crossroads of two major interstate highways, is surrounded on three sides by the Arkansas River, is served by 1 major and 2 regional/switching railroad companies, and is the home of a regional airport.
The city sits just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 40 and Interstate 49. Interstate 49 will extend southward to meet Interstate 30 in Texarkana, Texas. US 71 and US 64 also run through the community.
Fort Smith is served by the Fort Smith Regional Airport (which is used for military aviation for Fort Chaffee and home of the 188th Fighter Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard, and is served by one commercial airline with flights to Dallas/Fort Worth.
Jefferson Lines bus service also links Fort Smith to other communities such as Little Rock, Kansas City, and Oklahoma City, as well as intermediate points, with numerous connections to other cities and towns.
The city is located on the Arkansas River, part of the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System and is served by the Port of Fort Smith.
Fort Smith is served by the Kansas City Southern Railway from a branch connection on the mainline at Poteau, Oklahoma, and affords connections to other railroads at Kansas City, Missouri, and at New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition, the regional railroad company, the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad directly serves Fort Smith and provides connections through the St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis gateways to the east. The Fort Smith Railroad provides local switching service to a variety of businesses as well as providing haulage for the Union Pacific Railway with which it connects at Van Buren, Arkansas. At this time, there is no direct passenger service from Amtrak. The closest point for such service is Little Rock.
Within the city, public bus service is provided by Fort Smith Transit (As of January 2015, FST operates 6 fixed routes, as well as paratransit service for disabled persons and Demand Buses.
A trolley-replica bus operates in the downtown area, providing transportation between the Belle Grove Historic District and the Fort Smith National Historic Site. The Fort Smith Trolley Museum operates genuine trolleys, but as a historic attraction, rather than as transportation.
Fort Smith uses two water treatment plants (for its drinking water; one near Lake Fort Smith in Mountainburg and one on Lee Creek. The city announced August 12, 2021, that the Massard Water Reclamation Facility would need to undergo a $22 million upgrade to avoid failure. If failure occurs, nearly all of East Fort Smith and surrounding towns would be without wastewater treatment, causing wastewater to flow into the Arkansas River. It has had little to no upgrades since built in 1966.
Hospitals in Fort Smith include:
Notable figures who were born in, lived in, or are otherwise associated with Fort Smith.