Judge Isaac C. Parker Federal Building - Fort Smith, Arkansas - People-Named Places on Waymarking.com

Judge Isaac C. Parker

The building was named for Fort Smith's most famous Judge. Judge Parker's predecesor at the court was Judge William Story, who was marred by corruption. Judge Isaac Parker took over the court on May 4, 1875. His reputation as the “hanging judge” was built over a career of 21 years. The first case heard in his court was on May 10, 1875, in which eight men were convicted of murder. He sentenced them to death, of which six actually saw the gallows. One sentence was commuted to a life sentence due to the youth of the convicted and the other was killed during an attempted escape. Throughout the years, 160 death sentences were handed down by Judge Parker, with 79 actually meeting their fate at the gallows. The other 81 meet their fate by either dying while incarcerated, reduction of sentence during appeal, or obtaining a pardon.

Judge Isaac C. Parker Federal Building

This is the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. As originally constructed in 1937, it was built to house both the federal court house and post office. Today, the post office has been relocated, but the court remains along with a variety of other offices including the Federal Marshalls.

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