Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the third-most populous city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents that encompasses the Arkansas counties of Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian, and the Oklahoma counties of LeFlore and Sequoyah.
Fort Smith, Arkansas | |
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Downtown Fort Smith | |
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Flag Seal | |
Location of Fort Smith in Sebastian County, Arkansas. | |
Fort Smith Fort Smith | |
| Coordinates: 35°22′7″N 94°23′55″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arkansas |
| County | Sebastian |
| Founded | 1817 |
| Incorporated | December 24, 1842 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | George B. McGill (D) |
| • Board of Directors | Board of Directors |
| Area | |
| • City | 68.23 sq mi (176.72 km2) |
| • Land | 63.99 sq mi (165.74 km2) |
| • Water | 4.24 sq mi (10.98 km2) |
| Elevation | 463 ft (141.1 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • City | 89,142 |
| • Density | 1,392.97/sq mi (537.83/km2) |
| • Urban | 122,947 (US: 257th) |
| • Metro | 279,974 (US: 165th) |
| GDP | |
| • Metro | $12.024 billion (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 72901-72906, 72908, 72913-72914, 72916-72919 |
| Area code | 479 |
| FIPS code | 05-24550 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0076952 |
| Interstate Highways | I-40, I-49, I-540 |
| Other major highways | US 64, US 71, US 271 |
| Website | City of Fort Smith |
Fort Smith lies on the Arkansas–Oklahoma state border, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, also known as Belle Point. Fort Smith was established as a western frontier military post in 1817, when it was also a center of fur trading. The city developed there. It became well known as a base for migrants' settling of the "Wild West" and for its law enforcement heritage, as it was the hub for white law enforcement of the adjacent Indian Territory.
The city government is led by Mayor George McGill (D), who in 2018 was elected as the city's mayor (the first African American in its history), and a city Board of Directors composed of three members elected at-large and four members elected by ward.