If the mention of Judge Isaac Parker doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you will remember Hang ‘em High, a popular Western from 1968 starring Clint Eastwood.  The movie was loosely based on He Hanged Them High, a book by Homer Croy that was, in turn, loosely based on the life and times of Judge Parker. In the movie, Eastwood portrayed a U.S. marshal who brought wrongdoers in to face the judge.

Parker served 21 years (1875 – 1896) in Fort Smith as district judge for the Western District of Arkansas.  His jurisdiction included the Indian Territory to the west, and at the time the courtroom was considered the largest criminal court in the world. During his service as district judge, he presided over 13,000 cases. Of the 160 men Judge Parker sentenced to death, 79 were actually hanged. He batted a fraction under 50 percent.

We recently had an opportunity to revisit Fort Smith National Historic Site.  It had probably been three decades since our last visit, and it was fun to reconnect with the story of how Judge Parker dispensed Western justice.  Our visit was made much more enjoyable because of the presence of park Ranger Cody Faber, who presented an enthusiastic overview of Fort Smith’s history.

Fort Smith through the Years

The first Fort Smith, constructed in 1817 of log and stone, was built on an overlook at the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers. Construction of the fort resulted from an order by the Acting Secretary of War, who was interested in restoring peace between the feuding Osage and Cherokee tribes. Large numbers of Cherokee had been relocated from the Southeast to western Arkansas where the Osage lived. Attempts to mediate the conflict were occasionally successful and the fort was abandoned in 1824. Remains of the stone foundation of the early fort are visible to today’s visitors at Fort Smith.

Construction of a second fort, considerably larger and more elaborate than the first, received congressional authorization in 1838, two years after Arkansas received statehood. Hiring and retaining workers for construction of the fort proved to be a continuing problem. Tradesmen and laborers recruited from Maine completed the initial work, but departed on riverboats once their one-year contracts were up. The fort was finally ready for occupancy in 1846.  

While the fort saw little military action during its nearly three decades of existence, it did serve as an important supply post during the Westward migration and, later, the Civil War, when it was occupied first by Union troops, then Confederate troops, and finally Union troops through the end of the war.

Judge Parker Comes to Town

The federal courtroom and presiding judge Parker, for which Fort Smith is best known, operated for 17 years in a building originally constructed as a barracks.  Isaac Parker had been nominated in 1875 by President Ulysses Grant to the position of U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.  At the time, the military post had been abandoned and the building was vacant. Half of the first floor housed the courtroom and the other half was divided into offices for the U.S. marshal and two other officials. The basement was utilized as a jail (up to 100 prisoners divided between two cells), while the attic was used for juries to deliberate.

Judge Parker, often referred to as “the hanging judge,” was assigned to bring justice to a large, lawless region of the country. It appears the judge earned his nickname as a result of 15 convicted murderers being hanged during his first year as District Judge. The judge held his position for 21 years, retiring in 1896 at age 55. Parker died ten weeks following his retirement and is buried in Fort Smith National Cemetery.

Ranger Cody Faber runs down the gallows history at Fort Smith/David and Kay Scott

Visiting the National Historic Site

A stroll through the grounds is reason enough to visit, but, of course, the historic site offers much more than trails and walkways. One of the site’s main features is a reproduction of the gallows where public executions were held until 1878, when the structure was fenced off from the curious. During 24 years, 86 men were hanged here including, on one occasion, six at one time.

The site’s visitor center is in the old barracks that houses the courthouse and jail. The visitor center offers an orientation video and a wealth of exhibits that help interpret the two forts, the tenure of Judge Isaac Parker, and life on the fringe of Western civilization. A visit to the basement that was utilized as a jail is a sobering experience, especially considering it was often crowded with a sordid cast of characters. 

While imagining conditions in the jail during Judge Parker’s tenure at the courthouse might be depressing, the restored courtroom itself is a gem. The initial restoration was completed in 1957 utilizing artifacts dating from the 1890s and early 1900s. In the late 1990s, the courtroom was altered to more accurately represent what visitors would have seen in 1881 to 1883, the middle years of Judge Parker’s reign of 1875 to 1889.  The courtroom includes a 38-star flag that was in effect following Colorado becoming the 38th state, but prior to North Dakota’s statehood in 1889.