Bass Reeves statue unveiling set for May 26

“It’s been a long time, folks,” Sebastian County Circuit Court Judge Jim Spears said Tuesday (Nov. 22) in announcing to the Fort Smith Board of Directors that a statue of U.S. Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves will be in place by May 26.

Spears, who was one of the leaders of a more than 3-year effort to raise the about $300,000 to fund the effort, said the Memorial Day weekend celebration may include special dignitaries. Spears made the announcement during the Board’s Tuesday study session.

“You can’t go to the lake that weekend,” Spears said with a laugh, and continued with a tease: “Who knows who might show up.”

With leadership from Fort Smith businessman Craig Pair and significant support from Tonya and Baridi Nkokheli, Julie Moncrief, Spears and many others, The Bass Reeves Legacy Initiative top project has been to build a 25-foot-tall statue in the Ross Pendergraft Park in downtown Fort Smith. The project received support from thousands who bought raffle tickets and hundreds of direct donors. Spears said Guest Reddick Architects donated their time to draw up the plans for the pedestal.

Reeves began his career as a deputy U.S. Marshal during the term of U.S. District Judge Isaac Parker. Reeves served as a U.S. Marshal between 1875 and 1910. Even though Reeves was an African-American and illiterate, he brought in more outlaws from eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas than anyone else. He was able to memorize the warrants for every law breaker he was to arrest and bring to trial.

Reeves was an expert tracker and detective, both respected and hated, but mostly feared. Reeves was not the first African-American appointed to serve Judge Parker’s federal court as a deputy U.S. Marshal, but he was the most famous Marshal in his day.
He was the first African-American inducted into the Great Westerners Hall of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City in 1992.

Organizers announced in April 2011 they were near their funding goal on a project that included a brief April 2010 meeting with Morgan Freeman in Little Rock to promote the cause.

Shannon Reith, the Guest Reddick architect who has handled the work, said the pedestal work should begin in March. Old curbstones that once bordered Garrison Avenue will be used as the the border of most of the pedestal base, with a few rows of brick around the top portion. A solid concrete structure about 4.5 feet will sit on a large slab of 18-inch thick concrete. Reith said.

The pedestal area will also include lighting, ornamental fencing and signage noting the history of Reeves and the support of key donors.

Spears also said sculptor Harold Holden is one of the most prestigious western artists in the nation. His paintings hang in the Oklahoma State Capitol and the large sculpture of Will Rogers at the Oklahoma City Airport is a Holden piece.
hholden.com

“This isn’t some guy we just picked out of the want ads,” Spears said.