History of Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is a city that lies on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state border, situated at the junction of the Arkansas River|Arkansas and Poteau River|Poteau Rivers, also known as Belle Point. The city began as a western frontier military post in 1817 and would later become well-known for its role in the settling of the American Old West|"Wild West" and its law enforcement heritage. The city is one of two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas|Sebastian County. It is also the principal city of the Fort Smith metropolitan area|Fort Smith Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses the counties of Crawford County, Arkansas|Crawford, Franklin County, Arkansas|Franklin, and Sebastian County, Arkansas|Sebastian in Arkansas, and Le Flore County, Oklahoma|Le Flore and Sequoyah County, Oklahoma|Sequoyah in Oklahoma. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 82,481,{{cite web | year = June 21 2006 | url = http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2005-04-05.csv | title = Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Arkansas | format = Comma-separated values|CSV | work = 2005 Population Estimates | publisher = U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division | accessdate = November 16 | accessyear = 2006}} making it the state's second most populous behind state capital Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock. There are two public high schools in the city of Fort Smith, Northside High School (Fort Smith, Arkansas)|Northside High School (Grizzlies) and Southside High School (Fort Smith, Arkansas)|Southside High School (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, site of the World War II Battle of Cisterna fought by the United States Army Rangers commanded by Fort Smith native William O. Darby.
As of 2007, Fort Smith was selected by the US Department of the Interior to be the location of the new US Marshal Service National Museum.
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