Fort Smith National Historic Site

Fort Smith National Historic Site Restoring Historic Commissary Building

Preservation work is taking place on the historic Commissary Building at Fort Smith National Historic Site in Arkansas with funding provided by the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund.

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By Compiled From N... - June 30th, 2023 2:30am

Where Judge Parker Ruled: A Visit To Fort Smith NHS

If the mention of Judge Isaac Parker doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you will remember Hang ‘em High, a popular Western from 1968 starring Clint Eastwood. The movie was loosely based on He Hanged Them High, a book by Homer Croy that was, in turn, loosely based on the life and times of Judge Parker. In the movie, Eastwood portrayed a U.S. marshal who brought wrongdoers in to face the judge.

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By David and Kay Scott - August 1st, 2024 1:24am

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April Was A Busy Month For the Gallows At Fort Smith National Historic Site

Western justice -- the kind delivered with a short rope and a long drop -- will be a frequent topic for discussion this month at Fort Smith National Historic Site, which preserves the site where more than a few hangings were carried out in the late 1800s.

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By Kurt Repanshek - April 6th, 2011 3:15am

Special Event at Fort Smith NHS Features Deputy U.S. Marshals, Light Horsemen and True Grit

A special event at Fort Smith National Historic Site on April 10 will offer the chance to interact with historical characters portraying U.S. Deputy Marshals and Chickasaw Light Horsemen. Tours of the jails, the gallows and Judge Parker's courtroom plus a photo op with a reproduction 1890 jail wagon will be followed by an outdoor screening of the movie True Grit.

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By Jim Burnett - April 3rd, 2010 12:32pm

Whoa! Did I Read That Right? Double-Take Posts of 2009

Finicky bears, addled boaters, a cannon that was, a cannonball that wasn’t. In 2009, these and other outside-the-box stories reminded us that you just never know what you’re going to run into – or what might run into you -- in America’s national parks.

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By Bob Janiskee - January 4th, 2010 4:56am

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National Park Mystery Photo 9 Revealed: Reviewing Stand? Hardly!

He was known, quite appropriately, as the "hanging judge." During his 21 years at Fort Smith, Judge Isaac C. Parker sent 160 men to the gallows, a replica of which this Mystery Photo depicts.

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By Kurt Repanshek - November 1st, 2011 7:02am

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What Not to Do with an Old Cannonball

On the morning of April 21, 2009, a local homeowner arrived at the visitor center at Fort Smith National Historic Site in Arkansas with the best of intentions but the worst of plans—he was carrying an old cannonball he'd dug up in his garden.

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By Jim Burnett - April 22nd, 2009 9:53am

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The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.

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The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks