Military
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Fort Smith National Historic Site preserves the remains of two nineteenth-century U.S. military forts on the Arkansas River and the later federal court that occupied the old reservation. Established first in 1817 to help keep peace between the Osage and westward-moving Cherokee, Fort Smith became a frontier post at the boundary with Indian Territory. A second fort built in 1838 grew into an important supply depot and remained in military use until 1871. Afterward, the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas moved there, becoming especially famous under Judge Isaac C. Parker. The site also preserves the harder history of Indian Removal and federal power in the region.
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Fort Smith, Arkansas · United States
