Fort Smith tourism gained a new base of operations this week. Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis traveled to the ribbon cutting of the Fort Smith Visitor Center and brings us this report.
Fort Smith has a lot of potential for visitors. The city is layered with places to go, from historical sites and parks to numerous eateries. Tourists of any persuasion can probably find an enjoyable adventure in the River Valley. But where do you start?
Enter the Fort Smith Visitor Center. Anyone can come here, speak with the staff, grab a couple maps, and find what they’re looking for. Earlier this week, the city’s tourism bureau, Discover Fort Smith, welcomed the community into its new visitor center in the middle of downtown on Garrison Avenue.
The space has an upbeat energy. Maps are a central theme on the walls as art and stocked on shelves for guests to use. On Tuesday, it was crammed with guests, including Discover Fort Smith staff, folks from the state tourism department, and Fort Smith Mayor George McGill. He addressed the crowd of people in the foyer of the new center and asked them a simple question:
“When’s the last time you invited someone to come to Fort Smith and enjoy all the great things we have here? Start today. Start today. Wait till something cool is happening. You know, the blues festival, the Peacemaker, the rodeo. Invite people to come. The fall festival. Invite people to come to Fort Smith, and you will be amazed when you hear them tell their story about who we are.”
The center is located in the Area Agency building on Garrison. Discover Fort Smith Executive Director Ashleigh Bachert says it’s exciting to officially introduce the new space, as they’ve been operating there since October 2024 and opened to the public this summer.
“It’s nice to see it completed and see everybody’s reaction of how excited they are and how proud they are. Because that was my original goal, was I just want to make Fort Smith and the residents here proud of their assets and how we’re presenting ourselves to the visitors.”
She says the visitor center’s previous home, Miss Laura’s Historic Brothel Museum, proved less than ideal.
“Day two or three on the job, I realized, like this isn’t the best place for us to be welcoming to all. It has stairs, so being accessible was a huge one for me and making sure that a wheelchair could get in, somebody on crutches, whatever it was. But also, you know, not everybody can resonate with a brothel museum.
"So how do we make sure that we create a space that’s more reflective of the community? So that kind of led into the board’s approval that I could start hunting for buildings and places to go. I jokingly said Greta took me on a lot of tours. I think I toured about twenty buildings along Garrison and in downtown, and it just—this space fit. We’re on the right side of the road as you’re coming over the bridge, which is really important to me.”
The building’s position on the downtown strip makes it almost a gateway to the city. Susie Cowan is the industry relations manager for the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism. She says the Fort Smith Visitor Center fits into a bigger picture for tourism in the state.
“We have our Arkansas State Visitor Center on I-40 that will lead them right into Fort Smith, and then they can learn more about that when they get to this visitor center. They can learn more about what’s going on here. So our strategy is give them everything to do, tell them where everything’s at, because when they know where it’s at and they know where there’s more to do, they’ll stay longer, they’ll spend more money, ultimately resulting in accomplishing all our goals.”
And there’s plenty to do. In fact, a representative from one of the city’s attractions was in attendance Tuesday, dressed appropriately for his role.
“Well, it’s common everyday clothing from the 1860s and 70s. This is what people wore about 120 years ago.”
Steve Mata volunteers at the Fort Smith National Historic Site. He is a living history role-player who educates folks about one of the many inhabitants of a yester-Fort Smith.
“I’m dressed as just somebody that would have been a shop owner or a restaurant or something here in Fort Smith."
JT: Maybe on Garrison Avenue?
"Yes, that’s pretty much all there was at that time. The town wasn’t what it is now.”
History enthusiasts can enjoy Fort Smith’s heritage sites and its role in the late 1800s Western expansion. Many landmarks still stand, with volunteers like Mata there to further enrich the experience.
“We try to let people know about the history of the park. When it was founded, the fort was actually founded in 1822 and was active until 1872 when the government turned the fort over to the state, and from 1872 up until the 1890s that’s when Judge Parker came in. And the original jail is still inside the building. It looks like a barracks from the outside. If you get a chance to go inside, you can see what’s left of the jail and Judge Parker’s courthouse. That’s the actual courthouse, his actual desk where everything took place in that room. If you don’t know who Judge Parker is or what the marshals did, watch True Grit. That’s where all this stuff took place. So it’s a landmark in United States history.”
Tourists can enjoy modern additions to the town as well. Joanna Hernandez handles social media for Discover Fort Smith. She says she often visits local spots to do photoshoots or gather content promoting the scene. Even though she usually approaches these experiences with an idea in mind, they often proceed in unexpected ways — like when she visited a snow cone stand called Da’ Bayou with a friend to grab some shots for their feed.
“So I got her with her cone, and she’s like smiling and, like, you could see the cone right next to her. She’s obviously loving it. She’s like, can you take the picture so I can eat this? And I’m like, of course. So she’s already in that mental headspace that I want to eat this, and I’m over here, like, just capturing the moment. So sometimes it’s all about capturing the moments. It doesn’t — even though there is some curation about it, like, oh, we’re gonna go here and hit these spots — when we get there, it’s usually authentic. It’s usually like, if someone comes here right now, this is what they’re going to see too. That’s this. But that’s as curated as it gets. It’s just this is our agenda, and then people can experience it themselves.”
Staff at the visitor center can provide itineraries or a custom list of activities to guests. Hernandez says that’s invaluable in a place like Fort Smith.
“Most people, they like to be told what to do. They don’t necessarily — I mean, most people, even myself, are kind of indecisive. They don’t know what they want to do, and sometimes you have to tell them, 'Hey, you've got to go to these places, trust me.' And we do an unfiltered series. I do the Fort Smith Unfiltered, where I ask random locals, 'Hey, what’s your favorite local spot? What’s your favorite place to get a drink? Favorite pastime? What’s the most underrated good thing about Fort Smith?'
'We always get so much hate, so let’s redirect the perspective. You know, what are the things that you think people bat an eye at? Because people who live where they live — I mean, I’m sure you guys probably notice Fayetteville residents probably have their own spiel or whatever about Fayetteville. So it’s the same thing anywhere you go. What is the thing that makes that place special? And that’s what it’s about.”
Anyone can stop by the new Fort Smith Visitor Center, which is now open at 524 Garrison Avenue. You can also visit the KUAF website for pictures of the new space and more information about tourism in the River Valley.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
