Edge of The Frontier
Fort Smith National Historic Site, Arkansas
War and peace. Outlaws and executions. Life-saving food and medical supplies. Justice, and injustice. An abandoned fort, and a thriving hub of life. A waypoint for future Western exploration and settlement, and an end-point for the tragic forced relocation of the Cherokee from the East. Fort Smith has seen it all, and then some.
Founded in 1817 but abandoned after only 7 years, it sprang up again in 1838 and lasted until 1896. As a federal fort, it was one of several end-points for the appalling "Trail of Tears", survived a Civil War battle in 1864, formed a major supply station, and finally became a federal court where many stories and myths of the Old West were made.
Now however, it's almost forgotten history. Thousands of cars and trucks pass by on Highway I-64 within a thousand feet of the fort every day, and never even notice it. Such is American History: so much passion-of-the-moment, followed by complacency, then apathy and abandonment for something else to be passionate about.
Fortunately for those of us who are interested in history, the site has been preserved by the National Park Service. Here in this shot is the Old Fort Smith Commissary, dating from 1845, and on the right as a companion, one of the famed covered wagons that made heading West in the 1800s possible for the Army and entire families looking for a life on the edge of the frontier.
Selected for FLICKR Explore May 13, 2022, # 85.
*Press L or left click on the photo for best viewing.
Link to ~My best photos~
*** All my photos are © All Rights Reserved. ***
Edge of The Frontier
Fort Smith National Historic Site, Arkansas
War and peace. Outlaws and executions. Life-saving food and medical supplies. Justice, and injustice. An abandoned fort, and a thriving hub of life. A waypoint for future Western exploration and settlement, and an end-point for the tragic forced relocation of the Cherokee from the East. Fort Smith has seen it all, and then some.
Founded in 1817 but abandoned after only 7 years, it sprang up again in 1838 and lasted until 1896. As a federal fort, it was one of several end-points for the appalling "Trail of Tears", survived a Civil War battle in 1864, formed a major supply station, and finally became a federal court where many stories and myths of the Old West were made.
Now however, it's almost forgotten history. Thousands of cars and trucks pass by on Highway I-64 within a thousand feet of the fort every day, and never even notice it. Such is American History: so much passion-of-the-moment, followed by complacency, then apathy and abandonment for something else to be passionate about.
Fortunately for those of us who are interested in history, the site has been preserved by the National Park Service. Here in this shot is the Old Fort Smith Commissary, dating from 1845, and on the right as a companion, one of the famed covered wagons that made heading West in the 1800s possible for the Army and entire families looking for a life on the edge of the frontier.
Selected for FLICKR Explore May 13, 2022, # 85.
*Press L or left click on the photo for best viewing.
Link to ~My best photos~
*** All my photos are © All Rights Reserved. ***