City Info:

 

Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce

612 Garrison Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901
Telephone: (479) 783-3111 (Office)

 

Where the New South meets the Old West

Fort Smith is a city of convergence. Its history began with a fort built in 1817 at Belle Point, where the Poteau and Arkansas rivers join.

During the Civil War, soldiers of the North met those of the South here with devastating results. Later, federal marshals rode out of the town — and out of the United States — and into Indian Territory; and the outlaws they apprehended collided with “Hangin’ Judge” Isaac Parker.

Today, Fort Smith fittingly bills itself as the place “where the New South meets the Old West.” From its military beginnings on the western edge of U.S. territory, the city has grown into a meetinghouse for the past, present and future with its well-preserved frontier spirit, its establishment of contemporary arts and entertainment venues, and its thriving community that is building for the future.