Fort Smith Gift Shop
Sitting right on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border, Fort Smith is the second-largest city in the state.
The city first began in 1817 as a small settlement named after a nearby American military post at Belle Point, a river bluff along the Arkansas River. The post, called Fort Smith, took its name from General Thomas A. Smith, the military district’s commander. The principal purpose of the fort was to keep the peace between the Osage and Cherokee tribes that had entered the area.
Although it currently houses no active units, there’s still a fort in the area. Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center is primarily used as a training facility by regional National Guard and Army Reserve units and occasionally by active military units from other installations.
