Welcome!
The Clayton House
514 North 6th Street
Fort Smith, AR 72901
479-783-3000
Jewel of the
Belle Grove
Historic District
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Fall/Winter Museum Hours:
Wednesday through Saturday 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday by appointment.
Admission: $4 Adults over age 18
$2.50 Ages 12-18, Free under 12
Announcing: "Clayton Conversations"
New, free monthly educational event for the public
Sunday May 27:
"The Badge and Boots: Baridi Nkokheli’s
Journey as Bass Reeves"
Who lived in this 1880s Victorian home?
William Henry Harrison Clayton and his Southern Belle wife, Florence,
raised six daughters and one son in this Victorian-style home
from 1882 to 1897.
In 1874, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed William Henry Harrison Clayton as the U.S. District Attorney to the United States Court of the Western District of Arkansas. Judge Isaac C. Parker arrived in 1875, and together they worked to bring peace and justice to the lawless Indian Territory and western one-third of Arkansas, the largest federal court district in the nation, totalling 74,000 square miles.
In 1882, Clayton and his family moved into this woodframe antebellum home on Sixth Street, which Clayton enlarged and remodeled in the popular Italianate Gothic Victorian style of the late 1870s and '80s. The elegant additions, including the entire north wing, featured large bay windows, carriage entrance, grand staircase, and double front doors. In 1897, Clayton received the appointment of federal judge of the Central District of Indian Territory, and he and his family moved to McAlester, OK.
Fort Smith citizens saved the Clayton home, a centerpiece of the Belle Grove Historic District, from demolition in 1969, then formed the Fort Smith Heritage Foundation and conducted an authentic 1880s restoration. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been open for touring and private rental since 1977.
And the ambiance lives on...
The Clayton House continues the Victorian tradition of hosting elegant social gatherings
by holding community events and renting the house for private gatherings. If you are interested in having your wedding, reception, baby shower, conference, or other special event in this lovelyVictorian home, click here.