Lighthouses of the United States: Arkansas

The United States of America is a federal union of 50 states and a capital district. The state of Arkansas is in the south central part of the country north of Louisiana and northeast of Texas. The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River maintains aids to navigation on the Mississippi River along the eastern border of the state and the Arkansas River waterway across the state, but none of those aids qualify as lighthouses. This page includes one private lighthouse on the Arkansas River.

The territory of Arkansas was acquired by the U.S. from France in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Organized as a territory in 1819, Arkansas was admitted to the union as the 25th state in 1836.

To be listed here, a lighthouse must actually serve (or previously served) as an aid to navigation. This means it must be located on a navigable lake or river and must be lit (or have been lit) as a navigational aid at least during the local boating season.

Arkansas Lighthouse
* Fort Smith Lighthouse Inn
1974. Inactive, probably since 2011. Approx. 45 ft (14 m) 12-sided shingle-covered tower with lantern and gallery. A photo is at right, a 2009 photo is available, and Google has a street view and a good satellite view. The Lighthouse Inn was a popular riverside restaurant but it closed early in 2011 when its owners decided to retire. The restaurant was expected to reopen but the plans fell through. The property was sold at auction in May 2016. The new owners, Leslie and Penny Smith, did not announce their plans for the property immediately, but in 2019 the property was under renovation to become an event facility. This work was interrupted when unprecedented flooding damaged the building. Repairs were underway in late 2019 but the facility remained closed in 2023. More recent information is needed. Located on the south side of the Arkansas just west of the Midland Boulevard (US 64/71) bridge in Fort Smith, near the Oklahoma border. Site and tower closed, but the lighthouse is easy to see from the Broadway Street bridge (US 64).

Lighthouse Inn Light, Fort Smith, May 2016
KFSM-TV photo

Adjoining pages: North: Missouri | East: Mississippi | South: Louisiana | Southwest: Texas

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Posted July 15, 2003. Checked and revised October 11, 2023. Lighthouses: 1. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.