<P> As Mattie 's tale begins , Chaney is employed on the Ross 's family farm in West - Central Arkansas , near the town of Dardanelle in Yell County . Chaney is not adept as a farmhand , and Mattie has only scorn for him , referring to him as `` trash '' and noting that her kind - hearted father Frank only hired him out of pity . One day , Frank Ross and Chaney go to Fort Smith to buy some horses . Ross takes $250 with him to pay for the horses , along with two gold pieces that he always carried , but he ends up spending only $100 on the horses . Later , Ross tries to intervene in a barroom confrontation involving Chaney . Chaney kills him , robs the body of the remaining $150 and two gold pieces , and flees into Indian Territory ( now Oklahoma ) on his horse . </P>
<P> As Mattie 's tale begins , Chaney is employed on the Ross 's family farm in West - Central Arkansas , near the town of Dardanelle in Yell County . Chaney is not adept as a farmhand , and Mattie has only scorn for him , referring to him as `` trash '' and noting that her kind - hearted father Frank only hired him out of pity . One day , Frank Ross and Chaney go to Fort Smith to buy some horses . Ross takes $250 with him to pay for the horses , along with two gold pieces that he always carried , but he ends up spending only $100 on the horses . Later , Ross tries to intervene in a barroom confrontation involving Chaney . Chaney kills him , robs the body of the remaining $150 and two gold pieces , and flees into Indian Territory ( now Oklahoma ) on his horse . </P>
where does the movie true grit take place
where does the movie true grit take place
Arkansas
Arkansas