Law and Justice in Arkansas
April 10 – 12, 2025
Fort Smith
The Arkansas Historical Association will host its 84th annual conference in Fort Smith, April 10-12, 2025. Presentations will cover a wide range of topics from all time periods that explore the history of Arkansas’s legal system, the enforcement and administration of the law, judicial cases and personalities, and challenges to injustice.
Fort Smith was established as a U.S. military outpost in 1817 to keep peace between the Osage and Cherokee nations. The city that developed around the fort became a hub for migrants heading west, as well as a seat of law and justice, and headquarters for U.S. Marshals operating against outlaws sheltering in Indian Territory. The U.S. continued to use the greater Fort Smith area as a military base (Fort Chaffee) from World War II to Vietnam, processed Vietnamese and Cuban refugees there, and provided shelter to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Please join us for engaging presentations from our speakers and conversations with fellow lovers of Arkansas history.
Registration available here.
Registration: $25/attendee with option to purchase meals separately.
84th Conference Program 2025
Full conference program including location details.
Location and Parking Maps
Conference Locations
Downtown Locations
Parking Map
Recent Past Conferences
2024 – Heber Springs
2023 – Arkadelphia
2022 – Little Rock
Video recordings available here.
2021 – virtual
Video recordings available here.
2019 – Stuttgart
2018 – Fort Smith
2017 – Pocahontas