Fort Smith is located in the western part of the state of Arkansas. It is one of two county seats in Sebastian County and was founded in 1817.http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas, with a population of 85,544.http://www.juggle.com/fort-smith The metropolitan area population is 293,063.http://www.juggle.com/fort-smith This area consists of Arkansas counties Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian.http://www.juggle.com/fort-smith Oklahoma counties LeFlore and Sequoyah are also a part of the metropolitan area.http://www.juggle.com/fort-smith

Fort Smith is home to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.http://www.juggle.com/fort-smith The city is serviced by Fort Smith Regional Airport, Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, Drake Field Airport, and Springdale Municipal Airport.http://www.juggle.com/fort-smith

In 1817 on Christmas Day, soldiers of the U.S. Army founded Fort Smith.http://www.fortsmitharrealty.com/history.htm The soldiers were under the leadership of Major William Bradford, and their goal was to maintain peace between Native American tribes the Cherokee and Osage.http://www.fortsmitharrealty.com/history.htm In 1849, the city began to grow due to its being a departure point for people headed to the western United States during the California Gold Rush.http://www.fortsmitharrealty.com/history.htm

In the 1860s, Fort Smith was held by Confederate forces during the Civil Warhttp://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ARFortSmith1.html The Union army seized Fort Smith in 1863 and it remained under Union forces for the remainder of the war.http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ARFortSmith1.html After the war was over, outlaws began to enter into the Indian Nations that bordered Fort Smith.http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ARFortSmith1.html The outlaws terrorized the Indians and the law enforcement of the area was outmatched.http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ARFortSmith1.html To counteract the problem, Issac Parker was elected the U.S. District Judge for the Western District of the Arkansas in 1875.http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ARFortSmith1.html Parker would go on to hang more outlaws than any other federal judge in American history.http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ARFortSmith1.html

Fort Smith lies at latitude 35°22′7″N and longitude 94°23′55″W.http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Fort_Smith,_Arkansas¶ms=35_22_7_N_94_23_55_W_region:US_type:city The city has an elevation of 446 feet above sea level and has a land area of 46.7 square miles.http://www.idcide.com/citydata/ar/ft-smith.htm The water area is 2.6 square miles and the annual average precipitation is 43.87 inches.http://www.idcide.com/weather/ar/ft-smith.htm The annual average temperature is 61F.http://www.idcide.com/weather/ar/ft-smith.htm

• Fort Smith National Historic Site: Features the remains of two frontier forts.http://www.nps.gov/fosm/index.htm
• Fort Smith Museum of History: Features exhibits and objects relevant to the history of Fort Smith.http://fortsmithmuseum.com/
• Fort Smith Trolley Museum/Downtown Trolley Rides: Features the history of streetcars and railroad equipment in the city.http://fstm.org/
• The Clayton House: The former residence of federal prosecutor William Henry Harrison Clayton.http://www.claytonhousefortsmith.com/

• Priest Holmes: Former National Football League (NFL) Playerhttp://www.juggle.com/fort-smith
• Laurence Luckinbill: Actorhttp://www.juggle.com/fort-smith
• Rudy Ray Moore: Actorhttp://www.juggle.com/fort-smith
• Jerry Keller: Singerhttp://www.juggle.com/fort-smith