Cherokee Bill was born Crawford Goldsby in 1876 to a Buffalo Soldier and a mixed Cherokee and black mother. Bill’s father abandoned the family but at the age of 10 his mother managed to send him to Pennsylvania’s Carlisle Industrial School for two years. Stories differ but it is generally believed that he shot his first man at age 12 and soon after joined up with the Cook Brothers for a string of robberies and murders. During his brief career he both led his own gang and rode with other notorious felons such as Billy the Kid.
 
Bill was betrayed by friends for the $1500 reward, captured and sentenced to death. During his appeal Bill attempted to escape from cell #20 and killed a jail attendant. It was for this murder that he received an additional death sentence and was hung on March 17, 1896. When asked if he had any last words he is quoted as saying, “I came here to die, not to make a speech.” 

 

Lewis Davis, Sam Sampson, Maoma July, Lucky Davis and Rufus Buck, all  Creek Indian and most mixed black, formed an infamous teenaged gang of criminals who robbed and raped both blacks and whites in the territory. Their first murder was that of a US Deputy Marshal on July 28, 1895 and their viciousness was such that marshals, the Creek Indian Lighthorse Police set out to catch them. They were tracked down on August 10, 1895 and only surrendered when they had no more ammunition. Parker sentenced all five to death and they were hanged as a group on July 1, 1896. 

 

Rufus Buck

Fort Smith National Historic Site is a 46-acre complex that includes the 1987 Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Overlook, remains of the first fort, the second fort with four interpreted historic sites and a reconstruction of the Initial Point Marker. 

The Initial Point Marker dates from 1858 when a stone was placed to indicate the boundary between Arkansas and Indian Territories. Whites were forbidden to settle west of the line until 1890. The original marker is on display inside the museum. 

The Barracks-Courthouse –Jail is the must see site. In 1849 the first barracks burned down and the current one is the second built there. In 1871 the army left the fort and the next year the Western District of Arkansas moved in. Here Parker presided from 1875-1889. 

Tours begin in the Visitor Center with a brief orientation film and continue into the basement jail referred to as “Hell on the Border.” The jail is set up as if the prisoners just left and an audio track provides their voices and conversations as if they were ghosts. The upper level of the building features a museum that is walk among jail cells and display cases that feature artifacts, videos, photographs and text. Highlights of the museum are a huge photo of the arrest of Cherokee Bill and items used during his failed escape attempt. Parker’s courtroom is also on the tour as well as displays around the Trail of Tears. 

A recreated 1886 gallows is located in an enclosure 150-ft. from the courtroom. Six men at a time could be executed simultaneously, making this the largest federal court gallows, . In 1897 the original was burned down. 

Outside of the NHP there is much to see in the city and walking tours have been developed. Belle Grove Historic District encompasses 22-sq. blocks of structures built over a 150-year period representing nearly all the forms of architecture used in American construction. The best way see the Downtown area is to follow a trail of 12 historic plaques that, with the use of a free application on your cell phone, gives visitors access to video and full narration. 

Fort Smith never brags. It doesn’t have to. This is historic travel central and everywhere you look it’s a hands-on experience. No other city in the country has a Visitor Center located inside a 1903 bordello owned by Laura Zeigler in the heart of  “The Row,” the seven house Red Light District. It was known as the “Queen of the Row,” with nine of the most refined ladies, gambling, dancing, socializing and champagne. Miss Laura’s office was downstairs and gentlemen paid her $3.00 for a token to “spend time” with a lady or $5.00 to spend the entire evening. Laura kept $2.00 and the woman received $1.00. Laura paid $600 for the house and sold it in 1911 for $47,000. 

The wooden, baroque Victorian, building is furnished in Victorian elegance complete with stained glass windows. The muted green exterior is its original color. On the second level the rooms of the girls are designated with a transom over each door inscribed with a name. Throughout the house there are display cases with personal belongings and memorabilia from the era. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.  

John Drennen, from Elizabeth, PA and David Thompson began a company in the Fort Smith area in the early 19th-century. In 1836 they purchased land, established what is now the city of Van Buren and relocated. Drennen began construction of a home in 1836 and the house remained in the family until it became the property of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith in 2005 making it the oldest home in the state continuously owned by a single family.  
 
A tour of the 26-acre site begins in the Visitor Center with interpretive panels on Wyatt Earp, Bass Reeves and women’s history. A short walk takes you to the five-story, dogtrot house that began as a basic one-room structure. The house underwent a $5-million restoration and has been returned to its original colors. The furnishings are 100 percent original and include a 1748-64 tall case clock complete with parchment scroll that attests to its provenance. 
 
The house has strong links to the Revolution and Civil War and the Underground Railroad (UGRR). In 1850 John, his wife and her 14-year-old slave girl stopped at Pittsburgh’s Monongahela Hotel. Some of the free black staff at the hotel were part of the UGRR and with their assistance she escaped. Accounts tell us that she asked that a damaged steamer trunk be repaired. As the luggage was removed from the hotel she slipped out and disappeared, it is believed, to Canada. The incident was big news at the time and the story was printed in a Pittsburgh newspaper and reprinted in Douglass’ “The North Star.” The Drennens’ trunk was returned. #FortSmith