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Making America's Best Idea Even Better
Fort Smith National Historic SiteHarper's Weekly illustration of steamboat along the Arkansas River with officers' quarters and town of Fort Smith in distance. (c. 1850s)
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Fort Smith National Historic Site
April 19, 1889 Execution
noose
Malachi Allen and James Mills were executed by the federal court at Fort Smith on April 19, 1889.  Both of these men were found guilty of murder in jury trials held before Judge Isaac C. Parker. On July 15, 1888, Malachi Allen shot and killed Shadrach Peters and Cy Love during an argument over a saddle. When deputy U.S. marshals tried to arrest Allen for the murders, he resisted until wounded. Allen's arm, badly shattered in the shootout, had to be amputated before he was taken to Fort Smith. James Mills was guilty of murdering John Windham in the Seminole Nation on December 15, 1887. No motive for his crime is known.
Interior of jail cell with box for prisoners to visit with their lawyers  

Did You Know?
The conditions at the federal jail at Fort Smith were so horrible that it received the nickname "Hell on the Border." Up to 50 men were crowded into one large cell with limited ventilation and poor sanitary conditions.

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Last Updated: June 16, 2007 at 16:57 EST