Place

Fort Smith Commissary

Supply wagon parked in front of two-story light tan stone building with gray slate tile roof.
Supply wagon and Commissary building.

NPS Photo / Pat Schmidt

Quick Facts
Location:
Parade Ground, north end

Accessible Sites, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

Built in 1838, the Commissary is considered the oldest standing building in Fort Smith. Although constructed by the US military as a place to store food and supplies, its uses and appearance have changed many times throughout its nearly two centuries of history.

Bastion to Commissary

In 1845, Quartermaster General Thomas Jessup inspected Fort Smith and ordered the fort be converted into a supply depot. Bastion No.1 became the location of the Commissary. With its new mission, Fort Smith became one of the largest and busiest supply posts in the southwest. It housed supplies for military forts in Indian Territory and the Mexican-American War between 1846 and 1848.

The Civil War

Soon after the start of the Civil War, the US military was ordered to abandon Fort Smith following Confederate victories to the east. In April of 1861, Arkansas state militia gained control of the fort and raised the Confederate flag. Confederate troops used the Commissary building for food and supplies, as was its original purpose, but also to house soldiers when necessary. In 1863, Union troops regained control of Fort Smith and used the Commissary building for food and supplies.

Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees

On March 3, 1865, many foresaw the end of the Civil War. As a result, Congress established a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees, commonly called the Freedman’s Bureau. Millions of enslaved people were being freed nationwide, but around Fort Smith, thousands of Black citizens - both soldiers and civilians - were grappling with this new life.

From 1865 to 1868, the Freedman’s Bureau assisted formerly enslaved people and refugees with four main goals:

  • To assist with the transition of a new life of freedom for formerly enslaved people, in both Western Arkansas and Eastern Indian Territory.
  • To assist with the establishment of schools for freedmen children in Fort Smith.
  • To assist destitute white refugees in the city who lost home and property during the war.
  • To assist with complaints of the newly freed Black population against outrages and attacks committed by the local white population towards the freedmen citizens.

Federal Court Era

The US military left Fort Smith in 1871. In 1872, the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas moved in, and the Commissary building was again used in a variety of different ways.

From 1875 to 1890, Judge Isaac C. Parker’s office was on the second floor of the building, possibly on the north side with a view of the place where the bridge is today.

From 1890 to 1896, the Hammersly family used the first floor of the building as their home. Two members of the six-person family were court officials; Jacob Hammersly was the Court Crier and his daughter, Florence Hammersly, was a Deputy Court Clerk for Judge Parker.

Old Commissary Museum

The Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas’s jurisdiction over Indian Territory came to an end in September of 1896. At the end of the 19th century, the Commissary building was sold to a private owner. But after learning that the city had plans to demolish it, a group of local women decided to save it. The Federation of Women’s Clubs leased the building and established the Old Commissary Museum as the city’s first history museum in 1910. After the National Park Service expressed interest in the building in 1960, the museum moved to a temporary building on Garrison Avenue. In 1979, the museum moved one block east to the Atkinson-Williams Warehouse and changed its name to the Fort Smith Museum of History.

National Park Service

President John F. Kennedy designated Fort Smith as a unit of the National Park Service in September of 1961. Since the Commissary building was acquired by the National Park Service, it has been maintained as a historic structure and is home to exhibits telling its story. Visitors are welcome to tour the Commissary building during visitor center hours.

Fort Smith National Historic Site

Last updated: August 28, 2024