Van Buren, Arkansas

These walls have seen Fort Smith transform from a rough-and-tumble frontier outpost to the city it is today. Built in 1906, this building started its life as the Atkinson-Williams Warehouse, a vital hub for commerce in…

Hop aboard a piece of Fort Smith history – this is Birney Safety Streetcar No. 224! Built in 1926, this streetcar was a vital part of the city's transportation network. It's a type of streetcar called a Birney "Safety…

Step back in time as we approach Oak Cemetery, Fort Smith's oldest graveyard, where the city's history rests beneath your tires. Founded in 1853, Oak Cemetery became the final resting place for many of Fort Smith's…

This unassuming locomotive played a vital role in fueling America's WWII effort. Built in 1942, Maumelle Ordnance Works Locomotive 1 was built by Vulcan Iron Works for the U.S. War Department. Its job was to haul…

Ever wondered about the untold stories beneath your feet? Here, in Fort Smith National Cemetery, silent rows of headstones whisper tales of courage and sacrifice, a profound testament to the lives that shaped this land.…

You're driving past Moffett, Oklahoma, a town with a reputation that once got it declared off-limits to military personnel. Back in the day, Moffett's drinking and gambling halls were so popular, they drew folks from…

Alma, Arkansas declared itself the Spinach Capital of the World in 1987 and erected a Popeye statue, thanks to Allen Canning Company processing more spinach than any other facility in the country.

Imagine stagecoaches rumbling along this segment of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, connecting the East and West coasts in the 19th century. This unassuming stretch of road in Crawford County, Arkansas, is part of…

Military installation near Fort Smith where Elvis Presley received his famous Army haircut in 1958 and where thousands of Vietnamese and Cuban refugees were processed.

Alma, Arkansas, wears its nickname, the "Spinach Capital of the World," with a quiet pride. You can see it in the expansive fields that stretch out toward the Boston Mountains, the fertile soil nurtured by the Arkansas…

You're driving through Roland, Oklahoma, right now. This town didn't start with a bang, but with a railroad. In 1888, the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway laid tracks through this area, then part of the Cherokee…

Ever wonder what happened to those who had nowhere else to go in Fort Smith's early days? Elmwood Cemetery, once the Poor Farm Cemetery, holds their stories. In 1890, Sebastian County purchased land for its first poor…

You're driving past Arkoma, right on the Oklahoma-Arkansas border. This town owes its start to a Civil War veteran and Choctaw Nation intermarriage, Captain James Reynolds. He built a castle nearby and then, in 1911,…

Central City, Arkansas, sits nestled near the western edge of the state, not far from the Oklahoma border. The town itself may be small, but its reach extends far beyond its geographic boundaries, thanks in part to some…

Natural Dam, Arkansas, has always been a place defined by its namesake. The natural rock bridge spanning the Mountain Fork River is a local landmark, drawing tourists and recreationists to the swimming holes and picnic…

You're driving through Muldrow, a town named for a man who never lived here. Henry Muldrow, the assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, lent his name to this community when the post office opened in…

This unassuming landscape holds stories of war, displacement, and new beginnings. During World War II, Fort Chaffee, then Camp Chaffee, housed thousands of German and Italian prisoners of war. Later, in 1975, after the…

Right here, near Pocola, you're passing through a place with a Civil War past. On September 1, 1863, the Union Army won a key victory at Devil's Backbone Mountain, just a stone's throw away. After the war, this area…

Imagine stagecoaches thundering down this very road, carrying mail and passengers across the Wild West! This is a preserved section of the Butterfield Overland Mail Route. From 1858 to 1861, the Butterfield Overland…

Imagine a bustling city, not of brick and steel, but of earth and ritual, right here in Oklahoma. That's what Spiro Mounds once was. Between the 900s and 1450s, the Caddoan people built this complex as a major religious…

Mountainburg, Arkansas sits nestled in the Ozark foothills, a place where the pace slows, and the views stretch for miles. Incorporated in 1883 and named for the obvious reason – the mountains all around – its early…

You're driving through Le Flore County, past the community of Fort Coffee. This place has a history stretching back to the Choctaw removal in 1832. But its name comes from a fort built in 1834, right here, to stop…

Hold on tight – you're about to discover Oklahoma's one and only railroad tunnel! Back in 1885 and 1886, the Fort Smith & Southern Railway carved this tunnel through Backbone Mountain. At the time, this was Choctaw…

Imagine single-handedly inventing a way for your people to read and write. That's exactly what Sequoyah did right here near Akins, Oklahoma. Sequoyah, also known as George Gist, moved to this cabin around 1829. He…

Those thick stone walls tell a story! The Old Sebastian County Jail in Greenwood offers a glimpse into law and order in this part of Arkansas over a century ago. Built between 1889 and 1891 by master mason Ike Kunkel,…

Hackett, Arkansas, a small town tucked into the western edge of the state near the Oklahoma border, doesn't often make national headlines. Yet, its location in the fertile Arkansas River Valley, where the Ozark…

Greenwood, Arkansas, tucked into the rolling hills, is a place where small-town charm meets a surprising thread of notable figures. The town itself, named for the dense forests that once defined the landscape, rebuilt…

Chester, Arkansas, nestled in the Boston Mountains, tells a story etched in timber and tenacity. Like many Ozark communities, its roots lie in the westward expansion of the 19th century. Families, often of Scots-Irish…

Imagine stagecoaches thundering through as you stand at this former stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route. Walker's Station, named for Choctaw Chief Tandy Walker, was a vital stop on this route through Indian…

You're driving through Gans, Oklahoma, a town with roots in the Cherokee Nation. It started as 'Jack Town,' then became 'Gann' after local brothers. But in 1895, the railroad came through and asked for a name change to…

You're driving past Rock Island, Oklahoma, right near the Arkansas border. This place started as Maney Junction, a key railroad crossing in the Choctaw Nation. In 1905, the post office opened, named Rock Island, likely…