1890 Map of Fort Smith

About this map

The Arkansas River serves as the primary artery for commerce and navigation in this late nineteenth-century landscape, dividing Van Buren from the growing urban grid of Fort Smith. The topography transition is stark, moving from the river flats of Richland and Arbuckle Island into the prominent ridges of the Backbone Mountain and the Sugarloaf Mountains. The map is a critical record of the frontier's edge, clearly delineating the boundary with the Cherokee Nation and the Choctaw Nation just west of the state line.