Sebastian County, Arkansas: History
=== Early settlement ===
Following the upheaval caused by the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes in Northeast Arkansas, Cherokee relocated in the area now known as Sebastian County; they were joined by Cherokee relocating from eastern states to form a sizeable community which would conflict with the Osage people who claimed nearby hunting grounds to the west. The United States Military constructed a fort at the confluence of the Arkansas River and the Poteau River, an area known as Belle Point. The fort was named Fort Smith after general Thomas A. Smith. A settlement of the same name grew around the fort, and remained even after the fort was abandoned. A second fort was built in 1836 at the same site and served as the western end of the Trail of Tears during Indian removal, ending the forced displacement at Indian Territory immediately west of Fort Smith. The combination of the historic land route and steamboats coming up the Arkansas River combined to make the area an important crossroads between east and west for American settlers expanding westward across North America during the "manifest destiny" period.
The Arkansas General Assembly created Sebastian County as Arkansas's 56th county on January 6, 1851, and named it for William K. Sebastian, United States Senator from Arkansas. Created from parts of Crawford, Polk, and Scott counties; Eaton Tatum's house at Jenny Lind served as temporary county seat while a five-person commission selected the permanent county seat.
Now a commissioner, Tatum, sought to make Jenny Lind the permanent site. Though Fort Smith was the only community of any size within the new county, Jenny Lind was centrally located. The commissioners decided to establish a new town on 40 acres (16 ha) of rural land, which had been donated by commissioner Reuben Coker, to be named Greenwood, in honor of Alfred B. Greenwood, who sat as the first circuit judge. …