Large crowd gathers in Fort Smith for U.S. Marshals Museum groundbreaking

Ground was broken Wednesday (Sept. 24) on the U.S. Marshals Museum along the banks of the Arkansas River near downtown Fort Smith, an important step in moving the museum from a dream and concept to a reality.

The planned $53 million museum's construction is a three-phase project, starting first with site work before moving to building construction and finally design and installation of exhibits to be housed at the museum celebrating the United States' oldest law enforcement agency.

The first phase is being self-financed, with fundraising ongoing to fund the next two phases. The museum had about $5.5 million cash on hand as of its June 30 quarterly board meeting, and has since announced a total of $19.5 million in cash and pledges committed to the project. The amount includes an anonymous donation of $5 million last week that is payable by the end of 2015.

At the ceremony kicking off construction of the museum, Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders told a crowd of about 750 about the significance of breaking ground on Sept. 24.

"On this day in 1789 – 225 years ago today – President George Washington signed Senate Bill Number One, which established the United States Marshal Service and it is very appropriate that this groundbreaking is being held on Sept. 24," Sanders said, adding that Wednesday's event was another historic milestone in the Marshals Service.

Sebastian County Circuit Judge Jim Spears, who has lead fundraising efforts for the museum, said Wednesday not only marked an important milestone for the Marshals Service, but it marked an important moment for the greater Fort Smith area.

"This community came together and said it could be done and it will be done," he said of the museum's construction.

Spears touted the commemorative coins being produced by the U.S. Mint as the next fundraising effort for the museum and could raise as much as $5 million for the preservation of the artifacts to be housed in the museum.

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, lead the charge for the commemorative coin when he became the primary House sponsor of legislation to mint the coins and said he was "in awe of what has been accomplished and what will be."

Womack said when he replaced now-U.S. Sen. John Boozman in the House, it fell on him to lead the charge on the coins and spoke of working with now-former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, in getting bipartisan support of the bill.

"To get these done, you have to get them on the Suspension Calendar. I had no idea what that meant. And (Boozman) says, 'Well, that means you're going to have to have 290 of your colleagues sign on as co-sponsors just to get it on the Suspension Calendar.' That means sitting down with 290 of your favorite friends on both sides of the aisle and take them from zero to 60 on this project.”

With the daunting task, Ross – now running for governor of Arkansas – and Womack worked both sides of the aisle to get near-unanimous passage of the legislation that allowed for the minting of the Marshals Museum coin. In a statement, Ross said he was proud of his work to benefit the museum "to secure over 300 bipartisan cosponsors that ensured its passage so that we can recognize the work our marshals do and can honor all those within the U.S. Marshals Service who gave their lives in service to their country."

Gov. Mike Beebe, who worked to secure $2 million in state funding for the Marshals Museum, told the crowd that the approach of pay-as-you-go was smart and noted that even though the museum has been a work in progress since he first took office more than seven years ago, he believed Wednesday's groundbreaking was going to give the museum momentum moving forward.

"I foresee that the second half of all of this process will go even faster and even smoother than the first half has. From the donation of the land by a very generous individual to the constant collection of gifts and activities that create the money; from the cooperation and assistance of the United States Marshal Service who have from the time that they decided this was going to be have never wavered and have continued to push; from our congressional delegation who have been leaders in everything that they could possibly do to move it along – I have every confidence that this is going to work and that you will all be able to see rising from this beautiful spot a museum that will be unique. The best law enforcement museum in the country."

U.S. Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton said there were no words to adequately express her thanks for the work done by people on the ground in Arkansas to make the museum a reality following Fort Smith's selection in January 2007 as the site of the museum. She said the museum would not only be of importance to those who care about law enforcement, but would tell the story of a young nation.

"So yes, the museum tells the U.S. Marshals' story and in doing so, it tells the country's story. We both started together, the same time. And we shifted, we grew and with many others, we formed this great nation."

Hylton added that as much as the museum being built along the banks of the river will tell the nation's story, it is being built along the banks of the Arkansas River because Fort Smith is in the Marshals Service's DNA as much as the Marshals Service is in the DNA of Fort Smith.

She pointed to the period in the 1800s when Marshals were often the only law enforcement present in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma), noting the number of marshals killed in the line of duty based in Fort Smith during the period.

Also attending Wednesday’s ceremony was Richard Davies, executive director of the Arkansas Parks & Tourism Department.

“It’s a beautiful day. This is a great event. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Davies said when asked his thoughts of the ceremony.

U.S. Marshals Museum President and CEO Jim Dunn has said previously that the museum could open as soon as 2017 if fundraising and construction efforts go as planned.