F
rom 1873 until 1896, the federal court conducted executions on the grounds of the courthouse. The gallows scaffold was located against the southeast corner of the wall that surrounded the old fort. From 1873 through 1896, eighty-six men were executed on the gallows at Fort Smith. All the men executed were convicted of rape or murder. After the Civil War, there was a mandatory federal death sentence in cases of rape or murder.