Western Pleasure Paint Horses for Sale near Fort Smith, AR

About Fort Smith, AR

This area was occupied for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, attracted to the advantageous site near the rivers. They used the waterways for transportation and trading, and to supply fish and water for their villages. The French claimed this area as part of their New France and La Louisiana. Some colonial fur traders traveled the Arkansas and other rivers to trade with the native American tribes. The United States acquired this territory and large areas west of the Mississippi River from France in the Louisiana Purchase (1803).