Fifty years ago John Wayne and Kim Darby starred respectively as U.S. Deputy Marshal Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross in the adaptation of Arkansas author Charles Portis’s True Grit. A tour of Fort Smith National Historic Site (above) will reveal the significant role of the U.S. Marshals Service, federal court and Judge Isaac Parker in the 202-year history of Fort Smith.— Photo of Fort Smith National Historic Site Courtesy NPS.g

True West September 2019