Editing Smith County, Texas (section)

== History ==
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[[Image:Wall of Memories, Tyler, TX IMG 0472.JPG|200px|thumb|right|Smith County veterans display, the Wall of Memories, in Tyler Plaza]]
[[Image:Confederate memorial, Smith County, TX IMG 0477.JPG|200px|thumb|right|[[Confederate States of America]] memorial in Tyler Plaza]]
[[Image:Korean War Veterans Memorial, Tyler, TX IMG 0491.JPG|200px|thumb|right|[[Korean War]] Memorial in Tyler Plaza]]
For thousands of years, indigenous peoples occupied this area of present-day Texas. The first known inhabitants of the area now known as Smith County were the [[Caddo]] Indians, who were recorded here until 1819. That year, a band of [[Cherokee]], led by their chief, "The Bowl" (also known as Chief Bowles), migrated from Georgia and settled in what are now Smith and Rusk counties.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clarke|first=Mary Whatley|title=Chief Bowles and the Texas Cherokees: A History|year=1971|page=17}}</ref> The Treaty of Bowles Village on February 23, 1836, between the [[Republic of Texas]] and the Cherokee and 12 affiliated tribes, gave all of Smith and Cherokee counties, as well as parts of western Rusk County, southern Gregg (formed from Rusk County in 1873) and southeastern Van Zandt counties to the tribes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Winfrey|first=Day|title=Indian Papers of Texas, Volume I: Treaty between Texas and the Cherokee Indians|year=1825–1916|pages=14–17}}</ref>

Native Americans remained on these lands until the [[Texas-Indian Wars|Cherokee War]] in the summer of 1839, as part of European-American conflicts with Native Americans in Texas. The Cherokee were driven out of Smith County. In this period, Cherokee and other Native American nations were forced from the Southeast United States to west of the Mississippi River to Indian Territory during [[Indian Removal]].

After 1845, some Cherokee returned when Benjamin Franklin Thompson, a white man married to a Cherokee, purchased 10,000 acres of land in Rusk County and allowed them to settle. The [[Mount Tabor Indian Community]] developed here,<ref>{{cite book|last=Pynes|first=Patrick|title=Historic Origins of the Mount Tabor Indian Community: Northern Arizona University|year=2007|pages=74}}</ref> some six miles south of present-day Kilgore. The community later grew and incorporated areas near Overton, Arp, and [[Troup, Texas]].

In July 1846, Smith County separated from the Nacogdoches District and was named for James Smith, a general of the Texas Revolution. At this time, Tyler was designated as the county seat.<ref>{{cite web|last=Texas State Historical Association Online|title=Smith County|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcs11|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=May 7, 2012}}</ref>

During the American Civil War, [[Camp Ford]] was the largest Confederate prisoner-of-war camp west of the Mississippi River. Here, Sheriff Jim Reed of Collin County and Judge McReynolds, former chief justice of the district, were seized and lynched by "Regulators".

The original site of the camp stockade is now a public historic park owned by Smith County, as such it is exempted from making any County property tax contribution, and is managed by the Smith County Historical Society. The park contains a kiosk, a paved trail, interpretive signage, a cabin reconstruction, and a picnic area. To date, it has never been the site of a paid venue, nor public event. It is located on Highway 271, 0.8 miles north of Loop 323.

===20th century to present===
Camp Fanin, a World War II US army replacement training facility, was located in the area known as Owentown, northeast of Tyler along US Hwy 271. Many of its original buildings still exist.

The Smith County Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in 1959 by individuals and business firms dedicated to discovering, collecting, and preserving data, records, and other items relating to the history of Smith County. More information can be found at the Smith County Historical Society Website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://smithcountyhistoricalsociety.org |title=To discover, collect and preserve the history of Smith County |publisher=Smith County Historical Society |access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref>