2May19 Fort Smith

The original builder and date of construction is not known but in 1882 William Henry Harrision Clayton updated the house to it's currently Victorian style. Mr. Clayton was a US Attorney for Western Arkansas adjacent to the Indian Territory of what became Oklahoma. His 80 murder convictions was a record and serves to show just how wild the area was. The main problem were whites attempting to take advantage of the Indians in one way or another.

I then walked to the site of the actual fort of Fort Smith Arkansas. I walk the grounds and then went into what was the enlisted barracks and now a National Museum. The museum was very interesting had a lot of information on Isaac Parker a federal judge there.  He sentenced over 100 people to hang, four of them women. 70 were actually hung.





After that I took the dogs for a hike down to the Arkansas River. Very peaceful.

After the hike I drove just a bit to get out of Fort Smith and stopped at a rest stop for the night.



Today's travels: