Fort Smith, Arkansas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fort Smith, Arkansas | |
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| Motto: Where life is worth living | |
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Arkansas |
| County | Sebastian |
| Founded | 1817 |
| Incorporated | 1842 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Ray Baker |
| Area | |
| - City | 52.9 sq mi (137.1 km²) |
| - Land | 50.3 sq mi (130.4 km²) |
| - Water | 2.6 sq mi (6.7 km²) |
| Elevation | 463 ft (141.1 m) |
| Population (2006) | |
| - City | 82,481 |
| - Density | 1,639.8/sq mi (632.5/km²) |
| - Metro | 207,290 |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Website: http://www.fsark.com/ | |
Fort Smith is a city that lies on the Arkansas Oklahoma Border. It is a river city and is situated at the junction of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers. Until Oklahoma became a State its Territory was governed primarily located in the Federal Court system from here. It is one of two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas. It is also the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Fort Smith, Arkansas and the counties of Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian, Arkansas and Le Flore and Sequoyah, Oklahoma. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 82,481,[1] making it the state's second most populous city behind Little Rock. There are only two high schools in the city of Fort Smith (leading to quite a rivalry between them), Northside High School (the Grizzlies) and Southside High School (the Rebels). The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is the city's only state supported institution of higher learning, however, Webster University and John Brown University each have a satellite campus located in the city. Fort Smith has a sister city relationship with Cisterna, Italy.
As of 2007, Fort Smith was selected by the US Department of the Interior to be the location of the new US Marshal Museum.
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[edit] History
Fort Smith was founded in 1817 as a military settlement to patrol the neighboring Indian Territory. The fort was abandoned in 1824 but a town founded by John Rogers had formed alongside the fort by that time. In 1838 the fort was re-occupied and expanded. In 1871 the fort was again abandoned. However, the town continued to thrive despite the absence of the fort.
One of Fort Smith's most notable historic figures was Judge Isaac Parker.
He served as US District Judge from 1875-1896. He was nicknamed the "Hanging Judge" because in his first term after assuming his post he tried eighteen people for murder, convicted fifteen of them, sentenced eight of those to die, and hanged six of them on one day. Over the course of his career in Fort Smith, Parker sentenced 160 people to hang, of those 79 actually were executed on the gallows. Judge Parker represented the only real law the rough and tumble frontier border town had at the time. His courthouse is now a National Historic Site where "More men were put to death by the U.S. Government... than in any other place in American history." [1]
[edit] Geography
Fort Smith is located at (35.368691, -94.398737).GR1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 137.1 km² (52.9 mi²). 130.4 km² (50.3 mi²) of it is land and 6.7 km² (2.6 mi²) of it (4.89%) is water.
[edit] Economic Base
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 80,268 people, 32,398 households, and 20,637 families residing in the city. The population density was 615.5/km² (1,594.2/mi²). There were 35,341 housing units at an average density of 271.0/km² (701.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.99% White, 8.65% Black or African American, 1.69% Native American, 4.59% Asian (predominantly Vietnamese and Lao), 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.03% from other races, and 2.99% from two or more races. 8.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 7.10% reported speaking Spanish at home, while 3.38% speak Vietnamese and Lao [2].
There are 32,398 households, of which 30.8% have children under 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% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of 32,398 households, 1,388 are unmarried partner households: 1,259 heterosexual, 84 same-sex male, and 45 same-sex female households. (Note: Stigmatization of homosexuality may prevent same-sex couples from reporting themselves as such on the US Census.) 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 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 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.
[edit] Other information
- The University of Arkansas, Fort Smith Campus.
- Fort Smith Regional Airport, having the F.A.A. designation of F.S.M.
- The historic downtown suffered major damage due to a tornado on April 21, 1996. Reconstruction went on over a span of five years (and in some cases, longer).
- During its days as a fort, Zachary Taylor was commander for a brief time.
- Fort Smith's Riverfront Hotel, popularly named "Miss Laura's" as the local brothel, became the city's Visitors Center in 1992. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, reportedly the only brothel so designated.
- Fort Smith National Historic Site is downtown near the confluence of the Poteau and Arkansas rivers.
- The Rheem Classic is a golf tournament on the Nationwide Tour, the developmental tour of the PGA. It is held every year at Hardscrabble Golf Club.
[edit] Trivia
- Fort Smith is the native city of the Stouffer brothers, creators of the famous "Wild America" TV series.
- Rudy Ray Moore, aka "Dolemite" was born in Fort Smith in 1937.
- The Fort Smith Hiram Walker plant is the only facility outside of Mexico that bottles and distributes Kahlúa.[3]
- 2005 1st round NFL Draft pick Matt Jones spent his senior year in Fort Smith, where he was a star athlete. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and helped them reach the 2005 NFL Playoffs.
- The city's main street, Rogers Avenue, is named for John Rogers, the founder of the civilian town of Fort Smith. Rogers Avenue is a part of Highway 22.
- World War II hero William O. Darby was from Fort Smith. His Rangers' liberation of Cisterna, Italy lead to Cisterna becoming Fort Smith's official sister city. Darby Junior High is named in his honor.
- The NBA's Memphis (formerly Vancouver) Grizzlies' franchise first ever draft pick, Bryant Reeves, was born in Fort Smith.
- Legendary NFL running back Priest Holmes, who played for Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs in his career, and set a now-broken NFL record for touchdowns in a single season in 2003, was born in Fort Smith.
- Ron Brewer (born September 16, 1955, in Fort Smith, Arkansas) is an American former professional basketball player.
[edit] References
- ^ Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Arkansas (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (June 21, 2006). Retrieved on November 16, 2006.
[edit] External links
- City of Fort Smith
- The University of Arkansas, Fort Smith
- Collection of photographs and articles about the 1996 tornado
- Fort Smith Regional Airport
- Fort Smith National Historic Site
- The Southwest Times Record, the regional newspaper based in Fort Smith
- Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine, a monthly city/regional magazine based in Fort Smith
- Fort Smith National Historic Site
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
![[1]](http://www.fortsmith.org/images/fscvb_photo_gallows.jpg){kind=link}