FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — People driving into downtown Fort Smith from the east side on Rogers Avenue will now be greeted by three important figures from the city's history during the 1800s.

The focal point of the new Gateway Park at Garrison and Rogers avenues in Fort Smith — the most noticeable thing about it when driving past it — is a large, elevated bronze statue of Isaac C. Parker, who was appointed judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in 1875. Bronze statues of two other key people, John Carnall and Mother Mary Teresa Farrell, are placed behind hi...