Fort Smith, an Arkansas Territory Outpost
On December 25, 1817, soldiers arrived in the Arkansas Territory to establish the first Fort Smith. On Christmas Day 2017, the city kicked off a yearlong bicentennial celebration that features concerts, dramatic re-enactments and special events.
The Fort Smith National Historic Site is a sprawling park dotted with historic buildings, including the commissary, the federal courthouse and the 1903 train depot. Groups can arrange for guided tours, ranger talks or living-history re-enactments, and Floyd and Sue Robison are available to portray Judge Isaac C. Parker and his wife, Mary.
The Fort Smith Museum of History has been in continuous operation since 1910. Inside the four-story former warehouse, groups can explore recently updated museum exhibits and artifacts, including an 1862 cannon used by Union troops. The museum’s soda fountain is a “working exhibit” where visitors can order ice cream and old-fashioned fountain drinks.
Miss Laura’s Visitor Center is a restored row house that was once a bordello. Groups can arrange for Carolyn Joyce, tour and travel sales director for Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau, to portray the madam, Miss Laura, during a guided tour. Afterward, they can enjoy a barbecue dinner and take in a “medicine show” across the street at an indoor-outdoor pavilion overlooking the Arkansas River.
Construction is underway on the new $50 million, star-shaped U.S. Marshals Museum, slated to open in fall 2019. The Chaffee Crossing Historic District is the site of World War II-era barracks and buildings, and visitors will find several museums there, including the Chaffee Barbershop Museum where Elvis Presley received his famous first G.I. buzz cut.
The CVB can also arrange guided walking tours of nearly 30 murals and sculptures throughout downtown.
Bentonville, an American Art Showcase
Bentonville has two claims to fame. In addition to being home to Walmart’s headquarters, it is home to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. But the city is so much more.
One of Bentonville’s newest additions is the 8th Street Market, anchored by Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, which opened in January 2017. Developers reimagined a former Tyson fried chicken plant as a community-focused food hub. Visitors can taste what’s on tap at the Bike Rack Brewing Co., grab a bite at Yeyo’s Mexican Grille or buy sweets at Markham and Fitz chocolatier — and new restaurants and vendors are lining up, said Andrea Ritchie, communications manager for Visit Bentonville.
With advance notice, Brightwater can provide guided tours of its culinary school, including the greenhouse and garden; arrange cooking demonstrations; lead cooking classes; and dish up meals for groups.
In downtown, groups will find a historic square surrounded by restaurants and boutiques, as well as free tip-based pedicabs that were just introduced this spring. Sam Walton opened his five-and-dime store on the town square in 1950, and the store today houses the Walmart Museum, where groups can take guided tours or dine at the Spark Café.
Visitors will find public art throughout downtown. The 21c Museum Hotel’s art galleries and exhibits are free and open to the public every day, and public art dots the half-mile trail leading to Crystal Bridges. The museum owns an extensive collection of Colonial, 19th-century, modern and contemporary pieces, but the sparkling white-and-glass building is itself a work of modern art. Crystal Bridges offers group tours for 10 to 60 people, and the museum’s guided Trails Tour of the grounds boasts 3.5 miles of sculpture-dotted walking trails.
Groups also enjoy visiting the Museum of Native American History and guided tours of the 1875 Peel Mansion and gardens, Ritchie said.
