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H.H., Female, Age 20



Exhibit: Restraints

Inmates were let out occasionally on the weekend as a reward for good behavior. Being in jail, of course, provided a need for female companionship when they were let out. Prostitution became a promising business for many young women. The men, being lonely and far from their families, often did not treat the young women in an honorable fashion. No females are mentioned by name, but there was one informational panel that gave an overview of the prostitution situation. 


Exhibit: Jail Hospital Cell

Initially, female and male prisoners alike were housed in the same quarters. As Fort Smith started growing, however, they moved the women to the jail hospital on the second floor. Additionally, only a few female criminals are mentioned by name at any point in the museum. One informational panel in the back corner of the second floor discusses the general treatment of women during their time of incarceration. They were given tasks to do that generally were deemed “ladies work” such as mending blankets and clothing (for the men, of course) and cooking. This treatment might seem fair to some; after all, doing work could be punishment for the incarcerated. Compared, though, to the men that did nothing except live in the jail, the treatment is unequal.

Exhibit Detail: Judge Parker's Courtroom

The judges were all men. The lawyers were all men. The female inmates were raped by male guards. Were the guards found guilty? Of course not. Record book after record book recounts trials where cases involving only men were judged fairly, with equal weight given to both sides. The women, though, had almost no credibility, making it difficult to go to trial against a man. Additonally, any women noted as working for the government is named and immediately after, her relation to a man is given, with no credit given to the work she did (although the women were often secretaries). The mens’ descriptions give an account of their job and maybe a notable case they were involved in. This lopsided recounting of history gives the present generation the impression that women were not present in the “Wild West” days of Fort Smith, when that’s simply not the case.

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