The Western District at DIGS

Experience The Western District One Act Play (Approx. 1 hour)

Written and produced by Dr. Brandon Chase Goldsmith, THE WESTERN DISTRICT brings to life a missing chapter of Fort Smith history. On May 8, 1871, the Western District Court of Arkansas was relocated from Van Buren to a notorious saloon known as Fort Smith’s “Hole in the Wall,” the site today occupied by 21 West End. In just fourteen months and twenty days, it became the most corrupt courthouse in the United States.

Congressional investigations uncovered illegal schemes including criminal charges dropped for cash, a U.S. Marshal founding a National Bank to conceal the equivalent of $1 million, the Secret Service being chased out of town under threat of assassination, and a Grand Jury manipulated to avoid prosecution.