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View at the Mouth of Poteau River Postcard

A postcard showing the rocky shore of the Poteau River with a pink and green sky over blue water. A man sits on the rocks at the shore and a houseboat sits in the water.

Fort Smith was the highest navigable point on the Arkansas River when it was established in 1817. The first soldiers arrived by keelboat with their ordnance, commissary and quartermaster supplies. The river was not always a dependable mode of transportation as water levels fluctuated. It was not until 1822 that the first steamboat arrived at Fort Smith. By the mid-19th century, the garrison at Fort Smith drew its supplies from New Orleans and St. Louis. The Arkansas River steamers such as the J.R. Thompson, Swallow, and Comet delivered barrels of salt pork, flour, sugar, and stacks of bacon at the Belle Point wharf, near the confluence of the Poteau and Arkansas Rivers.

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Fort Smith National Historic Site, Code: FOSM

Fort Smith National Historic Site, Sebastian County, Arkansas
Latitude: 35.3883018493652, Longitude: -94.4312973022461

NPS.gov Collection

01/01/0001

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Tuesday, December 17, 2024 9:26:55 PM

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 9:44:50 PM

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