Officials Break Ground on U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith

Ground was broken Sept. 24 for the $50 million U.S. Marshals Museum near the banks of the Arkansas River in Fort Smith.

U.S. Senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman, Congressman Steve Womack, Gov. Mike Beebe and Stacia Hylton, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, highlighted a large group of dignitaries who gathered to formally launch the first phase of the project, which includes architectural and exhibit design and about nine months of site prep work.

The museum could be open late in 2017.

Groundbreaking for the 52,000-SF facility coincided with the 225th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marshals Service, the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States.

On Sept. 18, museum officials announced a $5 million gift, payable before the end of 2016.

The donation, given by a couple who chose to remain anonymous, represented the largest pledge toward the project to date, according to museum president and CEO Jim Dunn.

Museum officials say they have about $20 million committed to the pay-as-you-go project, but fundraising is ongoing.

Phase II of the project, the actual construction, will cost about $25 million. The most recent $5 million gift, will go toward that goal, as will an anticipated $5 million from sales of a U.S. Marshals Service commemorative coin.

Phase III, with a cost of $10 to $15 million, consists of the buildout of exhibits, funding of an endowment and ongoing operations cost.