More Attractions

Just two miles East of Gore on Hwy 64, or 17 miles West of Sallisaw on Highway 64 is the reconstructed site of Tahlonteeskee council house and courthouse. There is also a log cabin that belonged to the Carlile-Foreman family, who were Old Settlers. North of this site are the remains of Tahlonteeskee located on private property. There are still signs of a foundation, an old well and a little cemetery almost erased from sight. Truly this area should be recorded as one of the most important historical sites in Oklahoma. Tahlonteeskee was an uncle of Sequoyah and became the third chief of the Cherokees West, succeeding Takatoka. Tahlonteeskee and Doublehead, were signers of a treaty in 1805 that labeled them traitors. Tahlonteeskee departed for the West, Doublehead remained and was later slain by Major Ridge. Ridge later became a proponent of moving to the West. His group was called the Treaty Party, and he was killed after the forced removal to the West of the Eastern Cherokees.

At Fort Smith National Historic Site you can walk where soldiers drilled, pause along the Trail of Tears, and stand where justice was served. The park includes the remains of two frontier forts and the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. The main entrance to the Visitor Center is located on the south end of the Barracks/Courthouse/Jail building. Exhibits in the visitor center focus on Fort Smith’s military history from 1817 – 1871, western expansion, (AKA Hanging Judge Parker) Judge Isaac C. Parker and the federal court’s impact on Indian Territory, U.S. Deputy Marshals and outlaws, Federal Indian policy, and Indian Removal including the Trail of Tears. Located on the grounds are the foundation remains of the first Fort Smith (1817-1824), the Commissary building (c. 1838) and a reconstruction of the gallows used by the federal court. A walking trail along the Arkansas River includes wayside exhibits on the Trail of Tears.

Old Federal Building

Ft. Smith Museum

Old Jail

Ft. Smith Trolley

Hanging Gallows