[fancygal]

I visited Ft. Smith last year and could not believe the potential of that town that is not being used. It seemed to be divided between old town and new town.
Gorgeous mansions in the historic district not being used to the high potential.
Sitting on a gold mine really.
Just an educated guess but is the historical area full of drugs?
If so why can't the city pull together and buy out all the little houses and move them out somewhere on land? Then the mansions could be renovated to businesses and pull up the whole area.
If there are so many Christians are they not reaching out to the families and people addicted with programs or something?
I know drugs are pretty much in alot of places but it is a real lie that they are everywhere. I used to be in a bad area that believe that and everyone said it was everywhere and it is not. I moved and it is 1000% better. Is there no jobs or what there?
I seriously could not believe my eyes and fell flat in love with one place for sale.
Is it that noone wants to admit openly there is a problem? I went to all the local museums and landmarks in the historical area but had one thing in mind and that was getting out before dark. Was I so wrong and have I totally misjudged or is it just poor people trying to make it?
I was very poor but no shame in being poor. My mom used to say everyone can buy a bar of soap. Cleanliness and doing the best with what you have is the most important thing.

[bchris02]

You are right, that town has so much potential that is not being tapped in to. Fort Smith is run by old timers who despise change. Economic development and the extensive good ole' boy network in Ft. Smith don't mix. The chamber of commerce is run by powerful businessmen who keep new jobs out because they don't want to raise their wages to compete. Ft. Smith wages are quite a bit lower than most everywhere else, as is the cost of living. Plus, there is the whole issue of people in Ft. Smith not wanting their town to become a boomtown like NWA. Yes, the Christian movement is HUGE in Ft. Smith, but most of the churches there are very cliquish as well as self-righteous. Its sort of an "us vs. them" attitude. Its also a very segregated town, with the south side being almost exclusively middle and upper-middle class white, and the north side exclusively minority and poor white. Deep down, I actually kind of like Ft. Smith. The town has a lot of things going for it, but the politics and good ole' boy network there frustrate me to no end.

[rickers]

I never post on the Arkansas board but this post caught my eye. You just described most of the small towns in my area to a tee. I live in Conrad in North Central Montana. The big difference here is that there is no rich side or poor side of town. In a good rain year everyone does well and in a drought year everyone is poor.

[AndrewH]

fort smith is just typical arkansas, so much potential yet no one has the interest.and these non-witnessing self proclaimed christians.. maybe there arent really so many REAL christians that are in the church for the right reason. I just posted my first post downing arkansas as a whole,i found it funny to read this post and its replys that describes my post to a T.. Arkansas is a horible place and by the time they have all there preoblems corrected, they will be too proud of themselves for anyone else to tolerate.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by AndrewH

fort smith is just typical arkansas, so much potential yet no one has the interest.and these non-witnessing self proclaimed christians.. maybe there arent really so many REAL christians that are in the church for the right reason. I just posted my first post downing arkansas as a whole,i found it funny to read this post and its replys that describes my post to a T.. Arkansas is a horible place and by the time they have all there preoblems corrected, they will be too proud of themselves for anyone else to tolerate.

Many of the small towns in Arkansas are that way because they don't have the resources or population to be anything better. Fort Smith doesn't have an excuse. Look at the difference between Fort Smith and Fayetteville. Those towns are only 40 miles apart but the difference is night and day.

[Aporkalypse]

The real problem in Ft Smith is the brain drain to the North. Ft Smith has always had a nice regional service economy along with manufacturing. The corporations to the north in Bentonville and Springdale, though, have been stripping away the college grads from the area for the last two decades. The less educated care less about revamping downtown and the historical district, or have less means to do so.

Still, Ft Smith revitalized its downtown with bars and restaurants when the River Market was a pipedream. They got a nice head start and just plateaued.

[fancygal]

sorry. what is the River Market?

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by fancygal

sorry. what is the River Market?

River Market is a vibrant section of downtown Little Rock. Welcome to the River Market

[blkfirsprk]

I grew up in Fort Smith and I agree with what most of what bchris is saying. The only thing Fort Smith really has going for it right now is UAFS. The Marshals museum they are planning to spend so much money on isn't going to cut it.
I would like to see Fort Smith turn it around but If things keep going the way they are going I might wind up in Springdale or somewhere.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by rickers

I never post on the Arkansas board but this post caught my eye. You just described most of the small towns in my area to a tee. I live in Conrad in North Central Montana. The big difference here is that there is no rich side or poor side of town. In a good rain year everyone does well and in a drought year everyone is poor.

In traveling to many small towns in Arkansas, and living near a bunch of them, I think that the desire not to change is what outsiders see as "not using potential".

Kind of like all the 'potential' wasted in Grand Canyon, where they have all that room for scads of restaurants that could all have great views of each other, and the huge advertising potential of putting battleship size billboards on the canyon sides to be viewed from miles away.

Imagine how you residents of Hot Springs or Fayetteville would feel if a lot of people started moving in, getting political status, and deciding that the city would be much better off as a quiet bedroom community, and started pulling permits to 75% of the businesses and venues in town, so mothers could safely line up side by side and push their baby carriages down the street.

There are a *lot* of towns that don't want growth.

A good example, for the older crowd here, is a show that used to be on TV called, "A Place Called Evening Shade", and it starred Burt Reynolds.

The Evening Shade of subject is 9 miles south of me. A *very* small, quiet town.

Quite the Brou-ha when Burt & crew showed up to start the series.

Well.....they got tourists, and they got speculators, and then the stars finally went back to Hollywood to film there.

The town voted on capitalizing on the show, and overwhelmingly voted no.

"Enough was too much", I was told.

It remains a pinhead on the map, and they like it that way.

So goes many small towns all over the U.S.

Personally, I don't want no Golden Arches between me and the sunset neither.