Location: Sebastian, Arkansas, United States

Surnames/tags: sebastian_county,_arkansas arkansas us_history


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Welcome to the Sebastian County, Arkansas!
The county was formed January 10, 1851, and named for William K. Sebastian, United States Senator from Arkansas. The county has two county seats, Greenwood and Fort Smith. The area that is now Sebastian County has a rich history dating back to the 18th century, when it was inhabited by the Osage Nation of Native Americans. In the Early 19th century, the area was settled by European Americans, primarily from the sourther states.
During the Civil War Sebastian County was the site of several battles, including the Battle of Fort Smith in 1863, which was a Confederate Victory. After the war, the county's economoy was primarily based on agriculture and cotton being the main crop grown. Fort Smith, the county seat, developed into a major center for trade and commerce. In the 20th century manufacuturing and service industries also became important to the county's economy.
Today, the county continues to be a mix of rural and urban areas, with Fort Smith being the largest city. The city is also known for being the location of the United States Penitentiary and the Fort Smith National Historic Site.
Maps and Boundaries
- Crawford County (north)
- Franklin County (east)
- Logan County (southeast)
- Scott County (south)
- Le Flore County, Oklahoma (southwest)
- Sequoyah County, Oklahoma (northwest)
Communities
Cities
Barling Central City Fort Smith Greenwood Hackett Hartford Huntington Lavaca Mansfield
Towns
Bonanza Bloomer Midland
Unincorporated Communities
Abbott Arbuckle Island Bear Hollow Bethel Black Jack Ridge Burnsville Carnis Center Valley Crossroads Dayton Diamond Grove Enterprise Excelsior Fidelity Frog Towns Howard Hill James Fork Jenny Lind Liberty Maness Marietta Massard Mill Creek Milltown Montreal Neal Patterson Peoria Pleasant Hill Prairie Creek Riverdale Rye Hill Sand Ridge Slatonville Sugarloaf Union Ridge Ursula Washburn White Bluff Witcherville
Census-designated place
Townships:
Bass Little Big Creek Beverly Bloomer Center Cole Dayton Diamond Fort Chafee Barling Hartford Island Jim Fork Lon Norris Marion Mississippi Mont Sandels Prairie Rogers Sugarloaf Upper Washburn White Oak
Historical Landmarks
Atkinson-Williams Warehouse built in 1907 is one of the few remaining warehouses in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It originally served as a warehouse for Williams Hardward Company and later their successor, the Speer Hardward Company. An impressive red brick building now serves as the Fort Smith Museum of History.
Ayers, William, House is a historic two and half story wood framed house located at 830 North 12th Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The original structure was built in 1888, with later additions added to the rear of the house. Typical of Queen Anne style structures of the period.
Birney Safety Streetcar No. 224 is a streetcar or trolley in Fort Smith, Arkansas listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed and engineered by Charles O. Birney and Webster Engineering Company in 1916. The Birney "Safety Car" is one of ten or less streetcars preserved today. Number 224 was built in 1926 by the Saint Louis Car Company and bought that same year by the Fort Smith Light and Traction Company. They owned 14 of these cars, and No. 224 was included in the last order before the system was abandoned and replaced by buses. Mr. Johnson purchased No. 224 and turned it into a diner called the "Streetcar Cafe". It went through a few other owners and was restored, and later purchased and placed in the Trolley Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Bonneville House was built about 1870 by David McKibben and purchased by Mrs. Susan Bonneville, widow of General Benjamin Bonneville, a one-time commander at the Fort Smith Post, around 1878. Although Mr. Bonneville never lived in the home, his wife stayed in the house until her death many years later. The house was built and based on the Victorian Renaissance architecture of the time. It is located at 318 North 7th Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
C.R. Breckinridge House is a historic house at 504 North 16th Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The house was built in 1903 for Clifton R. Breckinridge, a representative for the area in the United States Congress in the 1880s and 1890s, and later Ambassador to Russia.
W.H.H. Clayton House Now the Clayton House Museum is a historic house museum at 514 North 6th Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The house was built around 1882 for W. H. H. Clayton, a local prosecutor, was chief prosecutor in the court of Isaac Parker, known as the "hanging judge". He was also from a prominent family in state politics.
Commercial Hotel, also known as the River Front Hotel, is a three story historical hotel building at 123 North 1st Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was built with characteristic of the Second Empire style around 1898-1899, when Fort Smith was a frontier town on the edge of Indian Territory. The building now hosts "Miss Laura's Social Club" and serves as Fort Smith visitors center.
Judge Isaac C. Parker Federal Building, also known as the Fort Smith U. S. Post Office and Courthouse, was built in 1937 in the Classical Revival style. In the earlier 19th century, it was the main stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from Tipton, Missouri to San Francisco, California.
Fort Smith National Historic Site is located in Fort Smith, Arkansas along the Arkansas River. The first fort established on this site in 1817. The park includes the remains of two frontier forts and the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. The second fort was operated in 1871. The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas had jurisdiction over western Arkansas and all the Indian Territory. Isaac C. Parker, known as the "hanging judge", presided at the court.
Darby House is the childhood home of William Orlando Darby. General Darby was founder of the famed Darby's Rangers that fought in Italy during World War II and evolved into the modern day Army Rangers. The home now serves as a heritage museum that contain personal military memorabilia.
Old Huntington Jail is a historic single story stone structure at 223 East Broadway in Huntington, Arkansas. Kansas and Texas Coal Company, which built the jail in 1888, and operated it until 1950.
Old Sebastian County Jail is a historic two story stone building built in 1889-91 by Ike Kunkel, a local master mason. Located on the south side of Arkansas Highway 10 in Greenwood, Arkansas. It is one of the city's finest examples of cut stone masonry. Stone from nearby Devil's Backbone Mountain Ridge was used, to build the structure. It is also believed to be the oldest county government building. It mainly served as a holding jail for detainees waiting for transport to Fort Smith. During the Great Depression, it served as a community cannery.
Disasters
National Protected Areas
Prominent Families and Surnames
- John Rogers, was the first permanent settler and founder of Fort Smith, Arkansas.
- William Meade Fishback was the only governor of Arkansas from Fort Smith, serving from 1893 to 1895. He was also a delegate to the 1874 Arkansas Constituional Convention. He served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1871 to 1881.
- Isaac Charles Parker, born October 15, 1838, was an American politician and jurist. He served as United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Judge Parker, known as the "hanging judge", held court in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
- John Sebastian Little, was born March 15, 1851 in Jenny Lind, Arkansas. He was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the 21st Governor of the U.S. State of Arkansas.
- Katharine Alexander, was born September 22, 1898 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. She was an American actress of stage and screen. She appeared in The Painted Veil (1934), That Certain Woman (1937), Now, Voyager (1942), In Name Only (1939), The Great Man Votes (1939). Her most shining hour came in 1949, in the Death of a Salesman.
- William Orlando Darby, was born on February 8, 1911 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He served a career in the United States Army as an officer who fought in World War II, where he was killed in action in Italy. He was posthumously promoted to brigadier general. Darby led the famous Darby's Rangers, which later evolved into the United States Army Rangers.
- Rudolph Frank Moore, was born March 17, 1927 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was an American comedian, singer, actor, and film producer.
- Harold Raymond Smith, was born June 1, 1931 in Barling, Arkansas. He was an American professional baseball player. Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Fort Smith Boys & Girls Club. His career in baseball had begun in Fort Smith, when he was an American Legion player in 1948. He was elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
- Floyd Lester White, was born on June 15, 1932 in Jenny Lind, Arkansas. He was a world class musician, master of the steel guitar. He played with Bob Willis' Texas Playboys and Hank Thompson's Brazos Valley Boys. He was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and pioneered the 10 string steel guitar.
- Laurence Luckinbill, was born on November 21, 1934 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He is an American actor, playwright and director.
- Kimberly Foster, was born on July 6, 1961 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. She is an American actress best known for her role in Dallas from 1989 to 1991. She appeared in both movies and television shows from 1983 to 1995.
- Brandon Keener, was born October 1, 1974 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He is an American actor best known for his voice-over roles in several video games. He has also worked extensively in television and film.
Records and Resources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_County,_Arkansas
- https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Sebastian_County,_Arkansas_Genealogy
- http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=807
- http://www.argenweb.net/Sebastian/
- http://genealogytrails.com/ark/index.htm
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