Enjoy the past in motion in 8mm movies made decades ago and mostly unseen, until now. Entertainment Fort Smith has digitized footage shared with us from family collections, revealing Fort Smith from the 1930s through 1980s. 

We hope the film clips will draw out more information – from you! Did you attend Christmas and rodeo parades on Garrison Avenue in the early 1960s? You may be on film – on these or other clips published here. More clips will soon be added, so check in often to discover what is new.

Please help to identify anyone you recognize; comment on the buildings and businesses seen in the background or share what only you may personally know. We know you will share clips on social media, but please try to get any identifying information back to the magazine. You can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or comment directly on YouTube. Please "Like" and "Subscribe" to the Entertainment Fort Smith YouTube channel. 

And if your family has 8mm film stored away, consider offering it for publication. For this project, we are looking for almost incidental scenes of the town, schools, neighborhoods and local events that your family photographer may have filmed. For publication, we will only publish clips with your permission. We will make a high-resolution scan and video of your entire film and give you a digital file to keep and use. 

Click below to see the video playlists now available:

The McCluney Collection: It's not surprising that Gene McCluney would become a professional photographer, considering his early interest. Given an 8mm camera before the age of 10, McCluney immediately became a talented cameraman. From his collection are Fort Smith Christmas and rodeo parades and two short films from his classroom at Peabody Elementary in 1961. 

The Wolfe Collection: Judge Paul Wolfe's films are fascinating. Starting in the 1930s, Wolfe was also a skilled cameraman and fine editor. There is a richly historic pair of films in which he set out to film every member of the congregation of First Christian Church in 1936 and in 1954. There will be many people in the film who are either still living or fondly remembered. Wolfe also documented two courthouses that existed before our present-day Sebastian County Courthouse and Federal Courthouse. 

Another way to navigate to the videos is by using the pull-down menu under the tab "Videos" on every page of this website.

You can see all the videos directly on YouTube by subscribing to our channel: Entertainment Fort Smith on YouTube.

Get out the popcorn! And please, share your knowledge.