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Fort Smith National Historic SiteHarper's Weekly illustration of steamboat along the Arkansas River with officers' quarters and town of Fort Smith in distance. (c. 1850s)
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Fort Smith National Historic Site
August 2006 Artifact
gavel used by Judge Parker
FOSM Photograph
Judge Parker's Gavel
 

AUGUST 2006 
 ARTIFACT OF THE MONTH

Gavel used by Judge Parker
c. 1875-96

Description: Wooden gavel used by Isaac C. Parker during his tenure as federal judge for the Western District of Arkansas.

Click here to return to Artifact of the Month page.
Interior of jail cell with box for prisoners to visit with their lawyers  

Did You Know?
The conditions at the federal jail at Fort Smith were so horrible that it received the nickname "Hell on the Border." Up to 50 men were crowded into one large cell with limited ventilation and poor sanitary conditions.

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Last Updated: November 22, 2006 at 16:22 EST