The Cherokee Trail was a historic overland trail through the present-day U.S. states of Oklahoma , Kansas , Colorado , and Wyoming that was used from the late 1840s up through the early 1890s. The route was established in 1849 by a wagon train headed to the gold fields in California . Among the members of the expedition were a group of Cherokee . When the train formed in Indian Territory, Lewis Evans of Evansville, Arkansas , was elected Captain. Thus, this expedition is sometimes written as the Evans/Cherokee Train. In 1850 four wagon trains turned west on the Laramie Plains , along Wyoming's southern border to Fort Bridger .
55-591: According to one source, "Neither the number of wagons nor the number of people that eventually used this road to cross the Sierra Madres makes this trail significant. What makes this road unique is that Native Americans and their traveling companions did not just cross the Continental Divide ; they made a path over the mountains and through the Wyoming Basin." The trail was also known as
110-541: A Catholic grade school for black children, St. John the Baptist School; it closed in 1968. The Southwest Times Record is the largest newspaper in the city, as well as the region. It is owned by Gannett . The Hispanos Unidos is the only Spanish-language publication in the region. Other publications in the Fort Smith area include Entertainment Fort Smith and Do South Magazine . AM radio Stations in
165-795: A four-year institution. In 2001, the Sebastian County electorate voted to support the merger. A formal request to change affiliation status to that of a bachelor's degree-granting institution under the name of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith was submitted to the Higher Learning Commission in August 2001 and approved by the Institutional Actions Council on November 19, 2001. The merger, which became official on January 1, 2002, endorsed
220-534: A large tornado, part of the April 1996 tornado outbreak sequence , destroyed and heavily damaged much of historic downtown Fort Smith around the Garrison Avenue Bridge. The storm tracked from eastern Pittsburg County, Oklahoma into Fort Smith and Van Buren, Arkansas. The tornado left four people dead in western Arkansas. Days later, the damaged Eads Brothers Furniture building in downtown Fort Smith
275-673: A member of a wagon train en route to California discovered gold in Ralston Creek , a tributary of Clear Creek north of present-day Denver . Stories of this discovery led to further expeditions in 1858, and the subsequent 1859 Colorado Gold Rush . In the 1860s portions of the trail from northern Colorado to Fort Bridger in Wyoming were incorporated as part of the Overland Trail and stage route between Kansas and Salt Lake City , Utah. The outlaw L. H. Musgrove traveled on
330-717: A network of horse thieves known as the Musgrove Gang, who raided government posts and wagon trains along the Colorado Front Range, following the Cherokee Trail. Musgrove was finally captured and taken to jail in Denver. He started a rumor from his cell that friends were planning to help him escape, and that the citizens could not prevent this. Instead, a group of vigilantes demanded that the guards release Musgrove to them. The guards offered no resistance, so
385-637: A suitable site on the Arkansas River for a fort. General Smith never visited the town or the forts that bore his name. A stockade was built and occupied from 1817 until 1822 by a small troop of regulars commanded by Major William Bradford . A small settlement began forming around the fort, but the Army abandoned the first Fort Smith in 1824 and moved 80 miles further west to Fort Gibson . John Rogers, an Army sutler and land speculator, bought up former government-owned lands at this site and promoted growth of
440-739: A tributary of Cherry Creek (Colorado) , following the latter to the South Platte River . It went on north along the eastern base of the Rockies to the Cache la Poudre in the vicinity of Laporte and Virginia Dale then over to the Laramie Plains ." The name of the trail originated from the 1849 trek to California of 130 Cherokees, with their 40 wagons, led by Captain Lewis Evans. In 1850 four Cherokee/white wagon train crossed
495-502: Is home to several corporations, including ABB Motors & Mechanical , ArcBest and poultry company OK Foods . According to the city's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: Various television programs and movies have been filmed in Fort Smith, including The Blue and The Gray (1982), A Soldier's Story (1984), Biloxi Blues (1988) Trespass and Tuskegee Airmen (1995) There are multiple museums in Fort Smith, located primarily in
550-497: Is part of the University of Arkansas System . The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith was founded in 1928 as an extension of the Fort Smith Public School system, with the superintendent, James William Ramsey, acting as the college president and the high school principal as dean. Known originally as Fort Smith Junior College , the institution operated within the Fort Smith public school system until 1950, when
605-491: Is the main shopping destination of Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma. Central Mall is the state's largest indoor shopping center in terms of area. Some notable shopping locations in the city of Fort Smith are: In addition to sports teams sponsored by Fort Smith Public Schools and University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, Fort Smith has several independent recreational sports programs and annual tournaments administered by local organizations: The city has one major university that
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#1732765163521660-545: The Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM), a private, non-profit institution, welcomed its inaugural class in August 2017. Graduates of ARCOM receive a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. The public schools in the majority of Fort Smith, as well as a section of Barling , are operated by the Fort Smith School District . Currently, the district includes 26 schools. During
715-776: The Butterfield Overland Mail 's 7th Division route across Indian Territory from Fort Smith to Texas and as a junction with the mail route from Memphis, Tennessee , an important port on the east side of the Mississippi River. For roughly a year of the American Civil War , the fort was occupied by the Confederate States Army . Union troops under General Frederick Steele took control of Fort Smith on September 1, 1863 . A small fight occurred there on July 31, 1864, but
770-571: The Oklahoma counties of LeFlore and Sequoyah . Fort Smith lies on the Arkansas–Oklahoma state border, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, also known as Belle Point . Fort Smith was established as a western frontier military post in 1817, when it was also a center of fur trading. The city developed there. It became well known as a base for migrants' settling of
825-916: The Park Range of Colorado. South of the Great Divide Basin , the US Continental Divide runs along the Sierre Madre high points. Its western basins drain into the Colorado River and its eastern into the North Platte River . Buck Mountain, elevation 11,396 feet (3,474 meters), is the highest peak in the range and lies within Colorado. Bridger Peak, elevation 11,004 feet (3,354 meters), is the range's highest elevation in Wyoming. Copper resources within
880-666: The Trappers' Trail , but the Trapper's Trail from 1820 in Colorado often varied from Cherokee Trail and took a different route in Wyoming. It also went to Taos, New Mexico . The route originated in Grand River near present-day Salina, Oklahoma . According to Erb, Brown, and Hughes, "The Cherokee Trail came west out of Oklahoma along the Arkansas River Valley in Colorado to the mouth of Black Squirrel Creek ,
935-603: The Union Army maintained command in the area until the war ended in 1865. As a result, many refugee slaves, orphans, Southern Unionists , and others came here to escape the guerrilla warfare raging in Arkansas, Missouri, and the border states . The slaves were freed under the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln . Federal troops abandoned the post of Fort Smith for
990-418: The " Wild West " and for its law enforcement heritage, as it was the hub for white law enforcement of the adjacent Indian Territory. The city government is led by Mayor George McGill (D), who in 2018 was elected as the city's mayor (the first African American in its history), and a city Board of Directors composed of three members elected at-large and four members elected by ward. The United States acquired
1045-429: The 1854 trail can be seen on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Wyoming. In Sweetwater County the trail on BLM sections is marked with 4-foot-high (1.2 m) concrete posts. Parts of this trail had been traveled and reported earlier in the 19th century. According to Gardner, General William Ashley had used part of this route as early as 1824. Gardner also mentions that emigrants heading for Oregon wrote about
1100-605: The 2019–2020 school year, the district had an enrollment of more than 14,748 students. It has 2 high schools, 4 middle schools, 19 elementary schools, and 1 alternative learning center. Fort Smith public schools provide education from kindergarten through the 12th grade, as do some private Protestant schools. Catholic parochial schools offer education through the ninth grade. Middle Schools in Fort Smith include Chaffin Middle School, Ramsey Middle School, Kimmons Middle School, and Darby Middle School. Private schools covering
1155-541: The Cherokee Trail from Colorado into Wyoming during the 1860s. A native of Mississippi , he came to California at the time of the Gold Rush. Apparently deciding that crime was more profitable than panning for gold, he was arrested and charged with murder in Fort Halleck , Wyoming, during 1863. Taken to Denver for trial, he was released on an unexplained technicality, and returned to a life of crime. Musgrove assembled
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#17327651635211210-554: The Fort Smith district. At that time, the Fort Smith district not only held the responsibility for law in Western Arkansas, but also the Indian Territory. Judge Parker served as U.S. District Judge 1875–1896. He was nicknamed the "Hanging Judge": in his first term after assuming his post, he tried 18 people for murder, convicted 15 of them, and sentenced eight of those to die. Six of these men were later hanged on
1265-533: The South Platte River near present Denver, turned north pioneering a new wagon road to the Laramie Plains (US Hwy 270) . Then west along the present Wyoming/Colorado border to Green River then NW to Fort Bridger. This route sometimes referred to as the "disease free" or "middle" route increased each year in numbers of Emigrants and cattle drives until by 1857 becoming the most heavily traveled or
1320-421: The age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.03. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under
1375-460: The age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 32,157, and the median income for a family was $ 41,012. Males had a median income of $ 29,799 versus $ 22,276 for females. The per capita income for
1430-514: The area be withdrawn. Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-most populous city in Arkansas , United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County . As of the 2020 census , the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area , a region of 298,592 residents that encompasses the Arkansas counties of Crawford , Franklin , and Sebastian, and
1485-639: The base. They used troops to forcibly relocate the Choctaw and Cherokee , from their ancestral homelands in the Southeast; they were the last of the tribes to leave. Remnants of the Five Civilized Tribes remained in the southeast, and some of their descendants have reorganized and been federally recognized. The Cherokee called the forced migration the Trail of Tears , as some of their people and
1540-401: The central United States. The city has been struck by three major tornadoes , which occurred in the years of 1898 , 1927 and 1996 . As of the 2020 United States census , there were 89,142 people, 36,210 households, and 22,349 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 census , there were 86,209 people, 34,352 households, and 21,367 families residing in the city. The population density
1595-482: The city was $ 18,994. About 12.1% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line , including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over. Fort Smith has long been a regional manufacturing center, with major plants located in the city operated by Rheem , Trane, Georgia-Pacific , Gerber, Kraft Heinz Company-Planters Peanuts, Mars Petcare, Umarex USA, Graphic Packaging, International Paper, Pernod Ricard-USA, and many others. Fort Smith
1650-468: The concept of UA-Fort Smith as a unique university, one that offers applied and traditional baccalaureate degree programs, one- and two-year associate and technical programs, and noncredit business and industry training programs. While the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is the city's only state supported institution of higher learning. In addition to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith (UAFS),
1705-623: The downtown area and the Chaffee Crossing Historic District. Fort Smith has an active music scene. There are frequent live performances in the downtown area by local and national Jazz, Blues, Country, Americana and Rock bands. Local bands regularly frequent the riverfront area highlighting the river valley's finest. As the third largest city in western Arkansas, Fort Smith offers many activities and attractions. Fort Smith's theater and event venues regularly host major concerts and touring theater companies. Fort Smith
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1760-449: The high stays at or below freezing on 3.8 days, reaches 90 °F (32 °C) on 77.8 days, and 100 °F (38 °C) on 11.1 days annually. The average first and last occurrences for freezing temperatures are November 6 and March 25, respectively. Extreme temperatures range from −15 °F (−26 °C) on February 12, 1899 to 115 °F (46 °C) on August 3, 2011. Fort Smith is situated near an area known as Tornado Alley in
1815-539: The larger area to be served and reflecting the more comprehensive mission. The name of the college was changed yet again in February 1998 to Westark College , more accurately portraying the role and scope of the institution. On December 15, 2000, the Board of Trustees of Westark College entered into an agreement with the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas to merge with the University of Arkansas System as
1870-529: The last time in 1871. The town continued to thrive despite the absence of federal troops. Two of Fort Smith's most notable historic figures were Judge Isaac C. Parker and William Henry Harrison Clayton, also known as W. H. H. Clayton . In 1874, William Clayton was appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas by President Ulysses S. Grant . Fort Smith was a bustling community full of brothels, saloons, and outlaws, just across
1925-496: The last wagon train from Wise County, Texas to Oregon was documented. In 1854, an additional route was blazed on the west side of the South Platte River, crossing the Cache la Poudre River , and then to the Laramie Plains. There the trail turned west near present-day Tie Siding , and proceeded along the Colorado/Wyoming border to Green River and to Fort Bridger where it struck the other emigrant trails. Parts of
1980-814: The late 20th and early 21st centuries. Much of the range lies within the Medicine Bow ;– Routt National Forest . Protected areas include the Encampment River Wilderness , the Huston Park Wilderness , and parts of the Mount Zirkel Wilderness . The range is traversed by Wyoming Highway 70 , which (except in winter when the road is closed ) crosses the Continental Divide at an elevation of 9,915 feet (3,022 m) at Battle Pass near
2035-679: The major trail to California. In 1857 a new cutoff of the Cherokee Trail was established when the US Army built a road over Bridger Pass to Fort Bridger. By 1862 the Bridger Pass route of the Cherokee Trail was a well wore road when the Overland Mail and Stage moved from South Pass route on to it. In 1869 the rail road reached Utah ending the Overland Mail. The Cherokee Trail continued as an emigrant route as late as 1883 when
2090-611: The new civilian town of Fort Smith. Due to the strategic location of this site, the federal government re-established a military presence at Fort Smith during the Indian removal era of the 1830s, primarily of tribes from the American Southeast to west of the Mississippi River in Indian Territory , which is present-day Oklahoma. In 1838, the Army moved back into the old military post near Belle Point, and expanded
2145-429: The old Battle mining site. The range supports a number of popular game species, including elk , mule deer , and grouse , along with other species mentioned in the state's Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy Report. In 2009 the state's Game and Fish Department, describing its wildlife as "world class", issued a report recommending that the area's natural values be analyzed and that energy development leases in
2200-415: The people who were enslaved died from starvation, hypothermia, exhaustion and many illnesses along the way. The army enforced the removal of these tribes to the reserved Indian Territory, where the federal government set aside land that was less fertile while imposing detentes between distinct nations. Many displaced people stopped walking and settled in Fort Smith and adjoining Van Buren on the other side of
2255-677: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race (11.6% Mexican, 2.2% Salvadoran, 0.4% Guatemalan, 0.3% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Honduran, 0.1% Cuban, 0.1% Peruvian, 0.1% Colombian). In language, Fort Smith has more than ten Asian languages spoken by more than two percent of the population. Also, the increase in immigration from Latin American countries in the late 20th century increased the number of residents who speak Spanish. 7.10% reported speaking Spanish at home, while 3.38% speak Vietnamese and Lao , and 2.50% speak Tagalog . In 2000, there were 32,398 households, of which 30.8% had children under
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2310-474: The range were extracted during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the Ferris-Haggarty Mine which lies about two miles west of Bridger Peak. Its operations were centered near Encampment 15 miles to the east. Gold findings in the range during the 1890s sparked a short-lived gold rush that attracted thousands of prospectors. The possibility of further discoveries renewed interest during
2365-551: The recently blazed Evans/Cherokee Trail with Captain Lewis Evans and Lieutenant Captain Peter Mankins, with 2nd Lieutenant George Van Hoose leading the expedition Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, and then connected with another trail to nearby Fort Smith, Arkansas . Starting in 1850 the trail was used continuously by gold seekers, emigrants and cattle drovers from Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, and the Cherokee Nation . In 1850,
2420-426: The river from Indian Territory. William Clayton realized a strong judge would be necessary to bring law and order to the region. He knew that Parker was a strong judge. But Parker had been appointed Chief Justice of Utah Territory and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. With the help of President Grant and U.S. Senator Powell Clayton , former governor of Arkansas, William Clayton was able to gain the appointment of Parker in
2475-652: The river. The U.S. Army also used Fort Smith as a base during the Mexican–American War (1846-1848). As a result, the U.S. acquired large territories in the Southwest, and later annexed the Republic of Texas, which had been independent from 1836-1846. Sebastian County was formed in 1851, separated from Crawford County north of the Arkansas River. In 1858, Fort Smith was designated as a Division Center of
2530-538: The routes in and out of Browns Park in 1839. By 1849, three routes suitable for crossing the Continental Divide had been identified: Twin Groves, Wyoming , an unnamed location near present-day Rawlings, Wyoming and Bridger's Pass. The Cherokee Trail followed the Twin Groves route. In 1849, Lieutenant Abraham Buford , escorting the mail from Santa Fe to the east, turned south at McPherson, Kansas , to follow
2585-490: The same day. Over the course of his career in Fort Smith, Parker sentenced 160 people to death. Of those, 79 were executed on the gallows. His courthouse is now marked as a National Historic Site , where "more men were put to death by the U.S. Government... than in any other place in American history." Parker was assisted in his law enforcement efforts by famed African-American marshal Bass Reeves . William Clayton served as U.S. Attorney under four different presidents and later
2640-408: The same grade range include Trinity Catholic School, Union Christian Academy, and Northside Christian Academy. High schools in Fort Smith include the public Northside High School and Southside High School , along with the private Union Christian Academy and Northside Christian Academy. Some portions of Fort Smith in the south are zoned to Greenwood School District . Fort Smith previously had
2695-415: The school was incorporated as a private, nonprofit institution with its own governing board. In September 1952, the college moved from borrowed facilities in the high school to its current site, initially occupying 15 acres (6.07 ha ). In 1966, the institution's name was changed from Fort Smith Junior College to Westark Junior College and in 1972, it was renamed Westark Community College , indicating
2750-737: The territory and large areas west of the Mississippi River from France in the Louisiana Purchase (1803). Soon after, the government sent the Pike Expedition (1806) to explore the areas along the Arkansas River . The U.S. founded Fort Smith in 1817 as a military post. It was named after General Thomas Adams Smith (1781–1844), who commanded the United States Army Rifle Regiment in 1817, headquartered near St. Louis. General Smith had ordered Army topographical engineer Stephen H. Long (1784–1864) to find
2805-487: The vigilantes took possession of the prisoner. Quickly they moved him to the Larimer Street bridge and ended his criminal career by hanging him beneath the bridge on November 23, 1868. Sierra Madre Range (Wyoming) The Sierra Madre Range is a mountain range in the western United States , located in south-central Wyoming and north-central Colorado . Geologically, it may be considered an extension of
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#17327651635212860-479: Was 1,391.2 inhabitants per square mile (537.1/km ). There were 37,899 housing units at an average density of 612.3 per square mile (236.4/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 69.3% White , 9.0% Black or African American , 1.8% Native American , 5.3% Asian (2.2% Vietnamese, 1.7% Laotian, 0.3% Asian Indian, 0.2% Filipino, 0.1% Korean, 0.1% Chinese, 0.1% Hmong, 0.1% Pakistani), 0.1% Pacific Islander , 10.3% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races . 16.5% of
2915-610: Was admitted to the Union in 1907. Governor Frantz and Judge Clayton both lost their territorial positions when Oklahoma became a state; a new governor was elected and the Roosevelt administration appointed a new judge. During investment in the military prior to World War II, the Army returned to Fort Smith in 1941. It established the Fort Chaffee Military Reservation east of the city. On April 21, 1996,
2970-537: Was appointed as Chief Justice of Indian Territory. He was instrumental in achieving statehood for Oklahoma in 1907, after Native American claims were extinguished by distribution of communal lands under the Dawes Act and the breakup of tribal governments. Together with Territorial Governor Frank Frantz , Clayton took a copy of the Oklahoma Constitution to President Theodore Roosevelt after the state
3025-695: Was destroyed by one of the largest fires in the city's history. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 64.6 square miles (167 km ), of which 61.7 square miles (160 km ) is land and 3.9 square miles (10 km ) (6.3%) is water. Fort Smith has a humid subtropical climate with generally mild winters and hot, humid summers. The monthly mean temperature ranges from 40.4 °F (4.7 °C) in January to 83.1 °F (28.4 °C) in July; on average,
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