• Rifle Regiment arriving at Belle Point, 1817. Artwork by Michael Haynes

    Fort Smith

    National Historic Site AR,OK

Places at the Second Fort Smith (1838-1871)

interior of Commissary with exhibit showing containers used by army when the building was a food supply warehouse

Interior of Commissary

Memories by Jody

While only two buildings remain from the second fort, visitors can walk the old military grounds and see the outline of the stone wall as well as the location of some of the military buildings.

The exhibit in the Commissary gives a glimpse into the time period when the army used the building as a supply warehouse. Food supplies were stored here and later transported to troops stationed further west.

  • Postcards of Second Fort Smith Postcards of Second Fort Smith

    Several postcards show views of what the fort looked like before 1870. Read More

  • Commissary Postcards Commissary Postcards

    The oldest building still standing in Fort Smith has had many uses. Read More

Did You Know?

Portrait of Anna Dawes

A woman was responsible for the building of a modern federal jail at Fort Smith, AR, in 1888.  Anna Dawes, daughter of Sen. Dawes of MA, visited the "Hell on the Border" jail in 1885 and wrote an article describing its conditions.  When read in Congress, money was quickly approved for a new jail.