At the Edge of Indian Country - Ft Smith AR
N 35° 23.293 W 094° 25.875
15S E 370011 N 3917036
A National Park Service sign explaining the history of the US-Choctaw lands boundary monument close by.
Waymark Code: WMN7XT
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 01/15/2015
Views: 5
This historic marker explains the meaning of a square block of stone that was used as a boundary monument between the United States and the Choctaw lands from 1825 to 1907.
It is located on board the Fort Smith National Historic Site, however, there is no fee to explore the grounds.
The sign reads as follows:
"At the Edge of Indian Country
If you had stood here in 1825, to your right would have been Arkansas Territory, and on your left, a vast domain traded to the Choctaw Nation for their ancestral lands in the east.
Fort Smith’s location here at the edge of Indian Country was a major factor in its evolution and vitality.
The history of the fort and the town growing up around it was shaped by the forced migrations of the eastern tribes to Indian Country, the booming trade in contraband goods, the white settler’s relentless push for land, and the military’s efforts to maintain order.
The Choctaw lands remained part of Indian Country until 1907, when the state of Oklahoma was established.
The cubic stone monument marks the initial point100 paces east of the first Fort Smith from which the Choctaw line was surveyed, as specified in the 1825 treaty. The original monument has been moved to the Visitor’s Center"
History of Marker:
Installed by the National Park Service
Link to Marker: Not listed
Additional Parking: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
A clear picture of the Marker or Plaque taken by you. And if you like a picture of you and GPS at the marker.
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