| 1892 Perron map VAN BUREN & FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, #124 |
Nice small map titled Van Buren et Fort Smith, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression. Overall size approx. 17 x 16 cm, image size approx. 10.5 x 7.5 cm. From: Les Etats Unis, volume no. 16 of La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes, 19 volumes (1875-94), great work of Elisee Reclus. Cartographer is Charles Perron.
Van Buren
city, seat (1839) of Crawford county, western Arkansas, U.S., on
the Arkansas River opposite Fort Smith. The site, settled (1818) by Thomas
Martin, was later called Phillips Landing (for Thomas Phillips, who bought land
rights there in 1836). In 1838 it was renamed for U.S. President Martin Van
Buren. It developed as a trading post and “fitting-out” centre for settlers
moving to the West; after 1873 it became a railroad junction point for river
traffic. Natural gas, discovered in the 1900s, attracted smelters and glass
factories. Parts of Ozark National Forest lie to the north, and lumbering was
once significant. Economic activities now focus mainly on the processing and
shipping of food products, especially poultry and vegetables. Cyrus Adler, a
Jewish educator, was born in Van Buren, which was also the boyhood home of
humorist Bob Burns, who invented the musical instrument known as the “bazooka”;
the shoulder-held rocket launcher widely used during World War II acquired its
popular name from its resemblance to the instrument. Inc. 1845. Pop. (2000)
18,986; (2010) 22,791.
Fort Smith
city, northern district seat (1852) of Sebastian county, western Arkansas, U.S.,
on the Arkansas River at the Oklahoma state line. An army fort named for General
Thomas A. Smith was established on the site (known as Belle Point to early
French explorers) in 1817 but remained operational only until the mid-1820s. A
second fort was established on the site in 1838 (construction being completed in
1846) and played a significant role during the forced removal of Cherokee and
other Native Americans to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) via the Trail of
Tears. It was commanded by General Zachary Taylor, later 12th president of the
United States, in the early 1840s. When gold was discovered in California in
1848, Fort Smith became a supply depot and point of departure for fortune
seekers taking the southern route across the plains.
Confederate troops occupied the fort early in the American Civil War, but it was
retaken by Union forces in July 1863. The fort largely fell into disuse after
the war, but the city's growth was sustained with the arrival of the railroad in
the 1870s. The U.S. Federal District Court for Western Arkansas was located in
Fort Smith and had jurisdiction over the Indian Territory, which also had become
a refuge for outlaws. Judge Isaac C. Parker, known as a “hanging judge,”
successfully carried out the difficult task of enforcing federal law in the area
from 1875 to 1896. Fort Smith National Historic Site (established 1960)
preserves the sites of the two forts and Judge Parker's restored courtroom.
Fort Smith is one of the state's leading manufacturing cities, producing
refrigeration appliances, electric motors, furniture, heating and
air-conditioning equipment, and processed poultry. Westark Community College
(1928) is located there, and Lake Fort Smith State Park is to the north. Inc.
town, 1842; city, 1851. Pop. (2000) 80,268; Fort Smith Metro Area, 273,170;
(2010) 86,209; Fort Smith Metro Area, 298,592.