Sample Itineraries
Northwest Region- Fort Smith-Where the West was Fun!
Day 1
2 p.m. Arrive at Miss Laura's Visitor Center. Tour the former bordello, the first to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. With prior arrangments, Miss Laura will be in costume to greet your group and give the tour of this historic old "hotel", but don't expect any old-fashioned hospitality. Catch a trolley for a tour of the historic district or have a step-on guide join your group.
3:30 p.m. Fort Smith National Historic Site - Tour the Courtroom of Judge Isaac C. Parker(known as the hanging judge), visit the gallows where 79 men met their fate, and step inside the old jail known as "hell on the border" to hear voices from the past.
5 p.m. Check into your lodging accommodations.
6:30 p.m. Italian dinner at The Hall at Talioano's or seafood at The Lighthouse Inn.
7:30 p.m. Miss Laura's Players present The Medicine Show on Hanging Day, an original musical/comedy now in it's 14th year.
Day 2
Tour Ft. Smith Historic District and Take a Train Ride
9 a.m. Darby Home -Tour the boyhood home of founder of famed World War II group, The Darby's Rangers.
10:00 a.m. Arkansas & Missouri Railway-Board the train for a one-way or round-trip excursion through the Ozark Mountains. Boxed lunches can be pre-arranged or follow the train ride with:
1:30 p.m. High Tea at the Clayton House-Built in the 1850s, this is the restored home of William Henry Clayton, prosecuting attorney for Judge Parker. Contains authentic Clayton family pieces.
3:00 p.m. Return to the hotel
4:00 p.m. Wine Country Tour-Board motorcoaches for a short trip east on Interstate 40 to visit a winery for a tour and tasting.
6:30 p.m. Enjoy dinner at Wiederkehr's Weinkeller Restaurant, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
or
4 p.m. Free time for shopping
6:00 p.m. Dinner at a Fort Smith Restaurant
7:30 p.m. Judge Parker's Courtroom-Trial re-enactment of United States of America vs. Crawford Goldsby, a/k/a Cherokee Bill, 1895. National Park Service staff will assume the roles of lawyers, judge, and other court personnel. Twelve of your group will be invited to participate as the jury. At the conclusion, the historical verdict will be revealed and discussed.
Day 3
9:00 a.m. Fort Smith Arts Center-Galleries contain fine paintings, sculptures, and art exhibits
10:00 a.m. Fort Smith Museum of History-See displays of early Fort Smith days and learn the city's role in the early frontier. Enjoy an old-fashioned soda at the working frontier drug store.
11:00 a.m. Take a nostalgic ride through downtown on a restored electric trolley from the museum to the National Cemetery where both Judge Parker and General Darby are buried.
11:45 a.m. Lunch at "The Park at West End" -a restored rail car at The Nickel and Dime Diner. Take a ride on a Ferris wheel from the 1935 World's Fair and the Bertazzon carousel.
1:00 p.m. Tour either First Lutheran Church or Immaculate Conception Church with one of the members of the congregation.
1:45 p.m. St. Scholastica Convent-Explore the convent with one of the sisters. Built in 1924, artwork is from the early 1900s. Learn what life was like in a convent as you tour.
2:30 p.m. Depart Fort Smith