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Fort Smith Trolley Museum

4.1 (14 reviews)
Closed Closed
Updated 2 months ago

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Great old trolley and wonderful volunteer conductor.
Joe S.

We had a great time on the trolley tour. The conductor was very informative and funny or as my wife said "he was precious"! It's good to see an old trolley still operating and we appreciate all the volunteers.

Corey H.

Day five of our road trip to San Diego, stop 2. Day five consisted of most of our sightseeing in Van Buren and Fort Smith. After lunch, Sarah wanted to go back and check out the Trolley Museum we saw from the road the day before. We parked in the nick of time, as the trolley was just getting ready to depart on its tour of its short tracks and Trolley owned grounds. The cost of the ride and tour: $2 for adults, $1 for kids... but we're all kids when riding trollies right? We were greeted by the conductor, who's one of over a hundred volunteers that maintain the trolley grounds, restore the trolleys and rail cars, operate the tours, and manage the museum. On the tour is an old trolley car that is to be converted into a soda fountain shop by a local Boy Scout troop, the National Cemetery (one of five in the country), the Fort, the Courthouse, Jail and Gallows, and finally the trolley grounds themselves. We learned a great deal of Fort Smith history: about the "Hanging Judge" Judge Parker, his tenure, the state of the National Cemetery, how some of the stimulus funds are finding their way to add rail to the trolley's route, and were pointed in the direction of the Fort Smith Visitor's Center, an old brothel. Loved the trolley, and a $2 well spent! Tip: ask them about holding your next party aboard one of the rail cars they have, as they've got a fully restored dining car that would be perfect for it.

Entrance at the parking lot.
Melody M.

This place was so much fun for us. My kids had a blast riding on the old fashioned trolley and seeing the trains. The gift shop is small and if you have a cat allergy, beware. The owners have tons of cats everywhere. The owners are very nice and helpful! The price was very reasonable and the tour takes about an hour. There were so many interesting facts about the history of Ft. Smith given too!

Here comes the Trolley!

The museum consists just of the trolley and the knowledgeable engineer. You have to work to find it, but it's totally worth it! If you don't see the trolley, call the number provided. You'll pay the engineer. Our engineer or guide was amazing, full of info on the National Cemetery right there and other local history. This is not a Disney-fied plastic experience. This is as real as it gets. Find the Trolley!

Conductor Robert taking extra time with the scouts.
David C.

Conductor Robert took time with our scouts, showing and allowing some hands on trolley operation. Added a photo of Robert showing the scouts a Trail of Tears monument that was a Troop 316 service project some years ago. Thanks to the Fort Smith Trolley Museum volunteers for keeping this part of history alive.

Matt K.

Fun for the price. Probably the best thing to do in fort smith if you need to kill an hour.

Trolley conductor interacting with riders. He let my son assist it changing direction. :)

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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5 years ago

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

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13 years ago

Fun place. Lots of train and trolley carts outside and inside the main building. Climb aboard and take some pictures.

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Review Highlights - Fort Smith Trolley Museum

The conductor was very informative and funny or as my wife said "he was precious"!

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Fort Smith Museum of History

Fort Smith Museum of History

5.0
(3 reviews)
0.2 mi

Very nicely done! We had a flight cancellation on a very rainy Saturday which led us to the…read moremuseum. Glad we went. The staff was very nice and the displays were great. Keep up the good work! Thank you!

Since I'm not from this area, I wouldn't know what to expect. Obviously, the early U.S. Army had a…read morefort here. They say something about defending against an Indian uprising. I could write for days about such a thing, but that takes away from the museum. The museum has a few exhibits for free in the lobby. If you want to see the rest of the first, and the second floor, it's $5.00 for adults, which isn't bad, considering the amount of information and the orderly way in which it's presented. Of course, flash photography is not wanted, as it can cause older items to deteriorate more quickly. They had early maps of the area, including a French map of the Native American Indians, which was quite informative. A handy guide to French would have made it accessible to everyone. They presented many items from the 1800s and early 1900s throughout the building, including vehicles, tools, and clothing. There were newspaper articles explaining events. I was surprised to see the creative use of typography, given the difficulty of manually assembling a page of metallic type. Along with this, they showed a couple of printing presses. On the second floor, they went into later years, up through the 1960s, and touched on subjects more likely to still be on the minds of older generations in the area. I suspect that school kids will go to the museum no matter what, but those who don't know about the history of the area should take the trip. Besides, feeding a museum in order to help preserve your history isn't a bad thing at all.

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Fort Smith Museum of History
Fort Smith Museum of History
Fort Smith Museum of History

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Fort Smith National Historic Site

Fort Smith National Historic Site

4.7
(24 reviews)
0.1 mi

Well, it's a hot day, we ended up spending a bit of time here learning about the history of Fort…read moreSmith, how integral it was into the colonization of the west, as well as their turbulent times trying to manage both the tribal communities and the white settlers who were moving into the area rapidly. It's a fascinating history And one that you have to spend a little bit of time going to the museum and understanding the different angles. I guess that's a purpose of a museum, right? We learned a little bit about Judge Isaac, Parker, as one of the first influences that had to deal with the wild West murderers and people committing heinous crimes that until he arrived, didn't face many consequences as there was no federal government system that was in control of the area and the tribunal process did not cover non-native Americans. Fascinating history. You can even see a replica of the courthouse as well as the gallows as they were over 160 people hang here. Take a rock across the railroad tracks and read a bit about the trail of tears. There are plenty of areas to contemplate the history. Bring a picnic, there are many places to relax and spread out. The museum is actually free, is air-conditioned and had clean restrooms

Really interesting historical site. We've been to a ton of National Parks and National Monuments /…read moreHistorical Sites. This is top 10 for sure! The information is presented in a fun way that really grabs your interest. There's a nice out door area to walk and explore more. The rangers were all very friendly and informative. Worth a stop for sure!

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Fort Smith National Historic Site
Fort Smith National Historic Site
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Fort Smith Trolley Museum - museums - Updated July 2026

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