"Fort Smith's restoration as a National Historic Site is a latter-day reassertion of the old post's refusal to die. Deliberate federal liquidation nearly did it in between 1896-1925, but Fort Smith's phoenix-like quality asserted itself and a new role was found, happily in this instance to provide a tangible reminder of its colorful past."
It often amazes me that so few people outside the South have ever heard of Fort Smith, which played such a pivotal role in Westward expansion. This remote outpost survived and grew over the years against seemingly insurmountable odds, to become today the second largest city in the state of Arkansas. Its storied history is one of legend, but this exhaustively researched book is a definitive authority on its colorful, and sometimes tragic, early years. If people know it at all, they may remember it for its feature in the novel and movie(s) True Grit (Rooster Cogburn, most notably played by John Wayne). There's now a National Historic site at Belle Point, where the original fort was once situated, which you can still visit. It's now the site of "Hanging" judge Isaac Parker's courthouse, at the site where, essentially, civilization ended, once you crossed the mighty Arkansas river into the unknown wilds beyond.
So, if you know anything about me or read my reviews, you know you're in for a (brief) history lesson. Fort Smith was technically founded in 1817, on a strategically-situated site at the confluence of the huge Arkansas and more diminutive Poteau river. This site, known as Belle Point, served as the location of the first settlement and fort (the remains of which can still be seen), the western-most frontier military post in the nation at the time, which also served as a center of fur trading. Prior to European settlement, however, the area was frequented by various indigenous peoples. This part of the country was acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It was initially explored by the Pike Expedition, contemporaneous with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by the US Army.
A stockade was built and occupied on the Belle Point site from 1817-1822, but the site was abandoned in 1824 and the troops moved 80 miles further west to Fort Gibson. John Rogers, who now has a major street named after him, bought the former government land and attempted to yet again establish a civilian settlement and promote its growth. During the removal and relocation of various indigenous nations,most notably the Cherokee and Choctaw, in the 1830s, the government yet again established a military outpost there, as the tribes were re-settled in Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma, just across the river.
Nor did I have any idea that so much documentation existed; much of the source material is drawn from extant letters and other correspondence, official orders, reports, surveys, construction plans and blueprints, and other contemporary documents, which the author has woven into a comprehensive and detailed narrative, itself an admirable feat. As with many towns, but particularly in this case, it seems, there was an immense degree of political goings-on behind the scenes, reflected in the illustrious individuals involved, most notably Zachary Taylor, "Old Rough and Ready" himself, who became the twelfth US president in 1948, and Colonel Matthew Arbuckle, one of his primary rivals. Fort Smith had become a major point of departure, rivaling Independence, Missouri, for overland travel to the West Coast after the start of the California Gold Rush, but that didn't stop Taylor from taking political revenge on his longtime rival by attempting to have the fort abandoned. Taylor also has the distinction of being one of the only presidents to die in office, from a stomach ailment, a mere sixteen months into his term. The intrigue between the major players is one of the strengths of this book in general, as it reads like a soap opera in some section, such was the drama which played out in this remarkably contentious town. It's no wonder that the town, for the better part of a century, retained something of a notorious reputation all around!
I won't go on too much regarding the many other twists and turns, but this book certainly does: it primarily chronicles the city's early history, however, so you may be disappointed if you're looking for a more contemporary history. It draws from a number of invaluable historic documents, which are scattered in collections all over the country. As a historian and a researcher, I greatly appreciate the tremendous effort it took to synthesize a vast amount of information to form a very comprehensive and cogent narrative about this fascinating town, which really was the "Wild West" back in the day. The prose is fairly straightforward, and can get a bit dry at times, but what's most engaging is the book's focus on the people, a cast of colorful characters who populated this far-flung land at the edge of the civilized world, whose escapades definitely keep you reading, and occasionally shaking your head!
My family has had a presence here for nearly a century, which explains my interest in this town with a fascinating history, which time has seemingly passed by. That's one of the major criticisms of the people who live there, that the affluence which changed life greatly for other cities in Northwest Arkansas seemingly passed them by, but I am always refreshed when I still visit there, honestly, as it still has a very small-town vibe to it, comprised of close-knit families and communities, which has been lost in so many other areas, even in that part of the country. I hope it still retains its unique character well into the future.
It often amazes me that so few people outside the South have ever heard of Fort Smith, which played such a pivotal role in Westward expansion. This remote outpost survived and grew over the years against seemingly insurmountable odds, to become today the second largest city in the state of Arkansas. Its storied history is one of legend, but this exhaustively researched book is a definitive authority on its colorful, and sometimes tragic, early years. If people know it at all, they may remember it for its feature in the novel and movie(s) True Grit (Rooster Cogburn, most notably played by John Wayne). There's now a National Historic site at Belle Point, where the original fort was once situated, which you can still visit. It's now the site of "Hanging" judge Isaac Parker's courthouse, at the site where, essentially, civilization ended, once you crossed the mighty Arkansas river into the unknown wilds beyond.
So, if you know anything about me or read my reviews, you know you're in for a (brief) history lesson. Fort Smith was technically founded in 1817, on a strategically-situated site at the confluence of the huge Arkansas and more diminutive Poteau river. This site, known as Belle Point, served as the location of the first settlement and fort (the remains of which can still be seen), the western-most frontier military post in the nation at the time, which also served as a center of fur trading. Prior to European settlement, however, the area was frequented by various indigenous peoples. This part of the country was acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It was initially explored by the Pike Expedition, contemporaneous with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by the US Army.
A stockade was built and occupied on the Belle Point site from 1817-1822, but the site was abandoned in 1824 and the troops moved 80 miles further west to Fort Gibson. John Rogers, who now has a major street named after him, bought the former government land and attempted to yet again establish a civilian settlement and promote its growth. During the removal and relocation of various indigenous nations,most notably the Cherokee and Choctaw, in the 1830s, the government yet again established a military outpost there, as the tribes were re-settled in Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma, just across the river.
Nor did I have any idea that so much documentation existed; much of the source material is drawn from extant letters and other correspondence, official orders, reports, surveys, construction plans and blueprints, and other contemporary documents, which the author has woven into a comprehensive and detailed narrative, itself an admirable feat. As with many towns, but particularly in this case, it seems, there was an immense degree of political goings-on behind the scenes, reflected in the illustrious individuals involved, most notably Zachary Taylor, "Old Rough and Ready" himself, who became the twelfth US president in 1948, and Colonel Matthew Arbuckle, one of his primary rivals. Fort Smith had become a major point of departure, rivaling Independence, Missouri, for overland travel to the West Coast after the start of the California Gold Rush, but that didn't stop Taylor from taking political revenge on his longtime rival by attempting to have the fort abandoned. Taylor also has the distinction of being one of the only presidents to die in office, from a stomach ailment, a mere sixteen months into his term. The intrigue between the major players is one of the strengths of this book in general, as it reads like a soap opera in some section, such was the drama which played out in this remarkably contentious town. It's no wonder that the town, for the better part of a century, retained something of a notorious reputation all around!
I won't go on too much regarding the many other twists and turns, but this book certainly does: it primarily chronicles the city's early history, however, so you may be disappointed if you're looking for a more contemporary history. It draws from a number of invaluable historic documents, which are scattered in collections all over the country. As a historian and a researcher, I greatly appreciate the tremendous effort it took to synthesize a vast amount of information to form a very comprehensive and cogent narrative about this fascinating town, which really was the "Wild West" back in the day. The prose is fairly straightforward, and can get a bit dry at times, but what's most engaging is the book's focus on the people, a cast of colorful characters who populated this far-flung land at the edge of the civilized world, whose escapades definitely keep you reading, and occasionally shaking your head!
My family has had a presence here for nearly a century, which explains my interest in this town with a fascinating history, which time has seemingly passed by. That's one of the major criticisms of the people who live there, that the affluence which changed life greatly for other cities in Northwest Arkansas seemingly passed them by, but I am always refreshed when I still visit there, honestly, as it still has a very small-town vibe to it, comprised of close-knit families and communities, which has been lost in so many other areas, even in that part of the country. I hope it still retains its unique character well into the future.
