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terrain September/October 2021

destination

TRAILS & JAILS

A visit to historic Fort Smith in northwest Arkansas.

By Mike Bezemek

D

riving west on Interstate 40 through northwestern Arkansas, the exit signs streamed past like reminders of prior trips. There was the time we drove scenic Highway 7 south to Hot Springs, stopping at the Buffalo River and hiking Pedestal Rocks along the way. The time we explored city parks and microbreweries in Little Rock. A mountain biking trip to Bentonville with buddies. A pair of camping trips at Big Piney Creek, near Dover. Whitewater kayaking on Richland Creek. Plus, mellower paddling trips to the Mulberry River, Lake Tenkiller, and other watery spots. But this time, the goal was something different. I'd recently been reading about the Wild West, and I'd learned about the fascinating history of Fort Smith, including individuals like Deputy US Marshall Bass Reeves and the "Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker. The next time we were in the area, my wife and I decided to stop and check out what's there. We arrived at the Fort Smith National Historic Site early on a Sunday morning, and we had the place to ourselves. Not even the outdoor visitor center was open yet. A quick consultation of the site map pointed us to the River Trail, which loops around Belle Point, a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Poteau and Arkansas rivers. For hundreds of years, the area was home to Native American tribes, including the Mississippian peoples and later the Osage. The Spanish conquistador Hernando DeSoto's expedition passed through the area in 1541 on a mission of conquest in search of gold. Next came French trappers and, in 1803, the United States, which acquired the area from France through the Louisiana Purchase.

The First Fort

Belle Point was the location of the First Fort, established on Christmas Day of 1817. At that time, the fort was on the leading edge of the western frontier. The purpose of the fort's officers

RIGHT:

Mulberry River overlook. ( MIKE BEZEMEK )