ATTRACTIONS

Historic Homes & Buildings

• Belle Grove Historic District
  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 22-block Belle Grove Historic District includes beautifully restored Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne, Eastlake Victorian Renaissance, Gothic Revival, Craftsman, Prairie, Federal and Neoclassical-style homes and buildings.  map

• Casper Reutzel Haus (circa 1850)
  423 North 5th Street • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  One of the oldest homes still standing in Fort Smith, the fully-restored Casper Reutzel Haus was owned by Casper Reutzel, a native of Dormstadt, Germany who owned the largest cotton shipping firm on the Arkansas River. Casper Reutzel Haus is not open to the public.  map

• Clayton House (circa 1850's)
  514 North 6th Street • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  479-783-3000
  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this eight-room wood frame antebellum house served for years as the family home of William Henry Harrison Clayton, following his appointment as U. S. District Attorney of the Western District of Arkansas in the famous court of Judge Isaac C. Parker by President Ulysses Grant. more...  map

• Darby House
  311 General Darby Street • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  479-782-3388
  This was the boyhood home of General William O. Darby, leader of Darby's Rangers in World War II. Some of his personal items are on display. more...  map

• J.M. Sparks Home (circa 1887)
  201 North 14th Street • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  479-785-2292
  Now home to Taliano's Italian Restaurant, this restored Renaissance Revival-style mansion is listed on the National Registry of Historical Places. All woodwork, fireplaces and stained art glass windows are original.  map

• Miss Laura's Visitor Center
  2 North B Street • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  479-783-8888, 800-637-1477
  Located in historic downtown Fort Smith, Fort Smith's Visitor Center is housed in a restored former bordello that is listed on The National Register of Historic Places. The only survivor of the seven houses on “The Row” in 1900, Miss Laura’s has served as Fort Smith’s official Visitor Center since 1992. more...  map

• Vaughn-Schaap House, The (circa 1850's)
  423 North 6th Street • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  Located in the Belle Grove Historic District
  One of the few remaining examples of Victorian Second Empire architecture in Fort Smith, this restored home listed on the National Register of Historic Places contains the Fort Smith Art Center.

Historic Sites & Monuments

• Fort Chaffee (circa 1941)
  Highway 22 • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  479-452-4554
  This 72,000-acre military base was the training site for thousands of troops heading overseas during World War II. Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army and began basic training here in 1958. Several memorial plaques honor World War II units formed here. The area of the camp that includes the barrack facilities is now part of the 7,000-acre Chaffee Crossing.  map

• Fort Smith National Cemetery
  522 Garland Avenue & South 6th Street • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  479-783-5345
  Granted national status in 1867, this 22.3-acre U.S. National Cemetery contains approximately 13,000 graves. One of two national cemeteries in the United States that have both Union and Confederate solders buried, Fort Smith National Cemetery is the final resting place of Generals James B. McIntosh and Alexander E. Steen, Judge Isaac C. Parker and Brigadier General William O. Darby. Fort Smith National Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  map

• Fort Smith National Historic Site
  301 Parker Avenue • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  479-783-3961 (Visitor Information)
  Commemorating the forced removal of the five southeastern tribes from their homelands to Indian Territory, Fort Smith National Historic Site includes the remains of two frontier forts and the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. The oldest building still standing in Fort Smith is the circa 1838 Commissary. The historic barracks/courthouse/jail building is the Visitor Center. Visitors can see Judge Parker's restored courtroom, the "Hell on the Border" jail, a partial reconstruction of the 1888's jail cells, and exhibits and videos on military history, Native Americans, the Trail of Tears, and the operation of the federal court and its impact on Indian Territory and U.S. Deputy Marshals and outlaws. more...  map

• Oak Cemetery
  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 20-acre Oak Cemetery is the final resting place of U.S. Marshals, outlaws, the Founder of Fort Smith, an Arkansas Governor, 15 Fort Smith mayors, Confederate veterans and more. One of the oldest burial sites in Arkansas, Oak Cemetery's oldest monument dates to 1842. more...  map

Libraries & Research Centers

• Fort Smith Public Library
  3201 Rogers Avenue • Fort Smith, AR 72903
  479-783-0229
  The Fort Smith Public Library's main branch is normally open Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Fridays until 6:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Other local library branches can be found at 8100 Dallas Street, 8701 South 28th Street, and 4701 Windsor Drive. more...  map

Museums & Galleries

• Fort Smith Air Museum
  6700 McKennon Boulevard • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  Fort Smith Regional Airport
  479-785-1839
  The Fort Smith Air Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of the development of aviation in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Its 56 display cases are primarily located across from the American Eagle and Northwest Airlink ticket counters. Special exhibits feature the 188th Air National Guard, Fort Smith Civil Air Patrol and the growth of corporate and general aviation in the Fort Smith area. more...  map

• Fort Smith Art Center
  423 North 6th Street • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  Located in the Vaughn-Schaap House
  479-784-2787
  Housed in "one of the few remaining examples of Victorian Second Empire architecture in Fort Smith," the Fort Smith Art Center has a permanent collection of contemporary regional art which is exhibited on a rotating basis. The Fort Smith Art Center showcases work in a variety of media by regional and nationally recognized artists each month. more...  map

• Fort Smith Museum of History
  320 Rogers Avenue • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  479-783-7841
  Located in the former Atkinson-Williams Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Fort Smith Museum of History "acquires, preserves, exhibits and interprets objects of historical significance relevant to the founding and growth of Fort Smith and the region." Exhibits include antique tools, an 1862 bronze Napolean cannon, the Time Line, hands-on telephone exhibit, a 1908 American Fire Engine Company steam pumper, “In the Shadow of the Gallows” and more. more...  map

• Fort Smith Trolley Museum
  100 South 4th Street • Fort Smith, AR 72901
  479-783-0205
  Filled with old railroad passenger cars, engines, old Fort Smith buses and other transportation artifacts, the Fort Smith Trolley Museum features a working, fully-restored 1926 electric streetcar that makes regular half-mile runs. more...  map